Unexpected Surprises
by yugiyamifangirl
Summary: SEQUEL TO SECRET PAST Heba, Jou, and Ryou are now engaged, but a villian from the past returns alond with two people that they thought they'd never see again. Blindshipping, Puzzleshipping, Puppyshipping, Tendershipping, Bronzeshipping
1. Chapter 1

This is the sequel to Secret Past.

Main pairings will be:

Blindshipping (Atemu/Heba), Puzzleshipping (Yami/Yugi), Puppyshipping (Seth/Jou), Tendershipping (Bakura/Ryou), Bronzeshipping (Marik/Malik)

Some minor pairings:

Isis/Mahado (don't know the shipping), Teana/Hondo (this might be in the story, haven't really decided yet), Rebecca/Leon (don't know the shipping)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!. It belongs to its creator.

Chapter 1

The sun rose into the Egyptian sky, signaling the start of a new day.

In their room, Heba cracked open an eye to see the sunlight entering the room. Sighing, Heba sat up and turned to look at Atemu, who was still sound asleep. "Atemu, wake up." Heba said, gently shaking Atemu.

Atemu groaned in his sleep and rolled over.

"Atemu, get up. You know you don't have a choice." Heba said.

Atemu slept happily on.

Heba sighed. "Why do I try?" He knew of only one way to wake Atemu up, and he didn't have a choice except to do it. Heba straddled Atemu's waist and gently kissed Atemu on the lips.

Atemu woke up to find Heba kissing him. Wrapping his arms around Heba, Atemu kissed him back.

The two broke up.

"That's quite a nice way to wake up." Atemu stated.

Heba smiled. "I'm glad. Now get up." Heba said before climbing off of Atemu.

Atemu groaned. "I don't want to get up." he said.

"You need to. I don't think you want Yami coming in here." Heba replied.

Atemu sighed. "Fine."

The two got out of bed and got dressed.

"Before I met you, I never got up on time." Atemu said.

"Before you met me, you actually slept with your clothes on." Heba retorted.

Atemu grinned. "I actually don't mind sleeping naked." Atemu said.

Heba blushed and said, "Let's go. The others will be going to breakfast." He darted out of the room with Atemu following.

* * *

Seth, Jou, and Yami were already eating breakfast.

Atemu and Heba walked into the room.

"Well, it looks like you're up. I guess Bakura and Ryou are the only ones still asleep." Seth said.

"Who's going to go get them up?" Seth asked.

"The last time I tried, Bakura yelled. I think we'll give them a little while longer." Atemu replied as he and Heba sat down.

Jou had sour look.

"Jou, are you all right?" Heba asked.

Jou glared at Seth. "Ask him." he growled.

"What did you do?" Atemu asked.

"He wouldn't get up this morning, so I might have done something to force him to get up." Seth said simply.

"Something?! You poured ice cold water all over me!" Jou exclaimed.

Seth smirked. "It got you out of bed, didn't it?"

Jou growled at him.

Atemu, Yami, and Heba couldn't help but laugh at that.

"What did we miss?" Ryou asked as he and Bakura walked in.

"Nothing. Jou was just telling us how Seth got him to wake up." Heba replied as the two sat down.

The group continued to eat breakfast as they talked about trivial things.

The group got up to leave the room.

"Do you have anything to do today?" Heba asked.

"There's a council meeting this morning, but our afternoon should be free." Atemu replied.

"Well, I guess that means that the three of us are left to our own devices." Jou said.

"Just try not to cause too much trouble." Atemu said.

"I won't make any promises." Heba replied.

Atemu groaned. "Sometimes, I wish you three had to come to these meetings with us."

"Ryou, could you-" Seth started.

"I try to stop them from doing these things, but it doesn't do any good. They cause trouble despite what I say." Ryou replied.

"Well, let's go before Father gets onto us about being late." Yami said.

Atemu, Seth, Bakura, and Yami left the other three.

"So, what should we do now?" Ryou asked.

"I think I'm going to walk in the gardens." Heba said.

"We might as well go with you." Jou said.

The three walked down the halls to the gardens.

* * *

"Should you have lied to them like that?" Yami asked.

"Probably not, but we have things to get set up, so we just thought that would be the most believable thing to say." Atemu replied.

"Well, you had all better get going if you want to get everything set up." Yami said.

"Right you are." Bakura said.

Atemu, Seth, and Bakura walked off.

Yami shook his head as he continued walking down the hall. He came across Mahado's study, which had the door cracked open. He peered inside the room to see Isis and Mahado kissing each other. Yami continued walking.

It was no secret that Isis and Mahado were together. They were married, even if they had had a quiet wedding that only the court attended.

Yami sighed as he came to a balcony and stood with his elbows resting on the sill.

"Yami, what are you doing?" Aknankanon asked, stepping out to the balcony beside his son.

"Atemu, Seth, and Bakura have gone to get everything." Yami replied.

"Oh. You could go stay around Heba, Jou, and Ryou." Aknankanon said.

"Well, that wouldn't work. The only way to get away with it was to say that we had a council meeting this morning." Yami explained.

"I see. That means neither one of us can see them for awhile without arousing suspicion. You could see if Mahado needs any help." Aknankanon suggested.

"He's already busy." Yami said.

"With what?" Aknankanon asked.

"Isis." Yami replied.

"Ah. I see." Aknankanon said.

Yami sighed.

"Something bothering you?" Aknankanon asked.

"Everyone around me seems to have someone. I just wish that I had someone, too." Yami replied.

"Do not worry, son. You will find someone someday." Aknankanon said before walking off.

Yami sighed. "When?" he muttered.

* * *

Heba, Jou, and Ryou had spent the next few hours talking in the gardens.

"You know, Yugi would have loved these gardens." Heba said.

"Yeah. Yugi always did have a bit of a green thumb, didn't he?" Jou said.

Ryou smacked Jou in the back of the head. "Knock it off!"

"Jou's right. Yugi loved the gardens. He'd have loved to just sit out in them." Heba said.

"Malik would have loved the number of people he could have pulled pranks out. The palace would have really been in an uproar." Ryou said.

It was then that Yami walked up to them. "We're done with the meeting. The other three went back to their rooms. They're waiting for you there." Yami told them.

"Thanks, Yami." Heba said as the three walked off.

* * *

Jou walked into the room and found Seth sitting on the bed.

"I'm glad you came so fast." Seth said.

"Yeah. I'm here, so what do you want?" Jou asked.

"Come with me." Seth said. He stood up and took Jou's hand in his, leading him out onto the balcony.

Their balcony overlooked the city.

Seth turned Jou to look at him and said, "Jou, I love you a lot, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Seth took a ring with a sapphire in it out and said, "Jou, will you marry me?"

Jou's eyes widened in surprise at the ring and the question. A second later, he was hugging the life out of Seth. "Of course I'll marry you, Seth!"

Seth smiled. "I'm glad to hear that." He slipped the ring onto Jou's finger.

"Is that why you've been acting so strange the last few days?" Jou asked.

"Yes. I was waiting for the perfect moment to ask you, and I thought that this was it." Seth replied.

Jou smiled and said, "I love you, Seth."

"I love you, too, Jou." Seth replied as he kissed Jou.

* * *

Ryou walked into his room and found Bakura waiting on him.

"Come on, Ryou." Bakura said. He took Ryou's hand and led him out of the room and down the hall.

"Bakura, where are we going?" Ryou asked.

"You'll see." Bakura replied. Bakura opened the door to his study and pulled Ryou into it before shutting the door.

Ryou was surprised at how the room looked.

The normally dark room had lighted candles scattered throughout the room

Ryou turned to Bakura and said, "Bakura, what is-"

Bakura placed a finger over Ryou's lips and said, "Listen, Ryou. The first time I saw you, I knew that I fell in love with you. I didn't want anyone else to touch you, which is why I took you as my personal slave. I was ecstatic when I heard that you were noble once I got over the shock. I don't want to ever spend another day without you." Bakura took a ring with a topaz gem. "Ryou, I want you to marry me."

Ryou's eyes widened as tears filled his eyes. "Oh, Bakura!" Ryou said as he threw his arms around him. "Yes! I'll marry you!"

Bakura smiled as he hugged Ryou. "Good. I was worried that I you would say no."

Ryou looked at him. "There's nothing that would make me say no. I want to marry you." Ryou assured him.

Bakura put the ring on Ryou's finger and said, "Then I want us to get married as soon as we can."

Ryou smiled. "I'd like that."

The two kissed each other.

* * *

Heba walked into his room and found the room empty. He frowned. 'Yami said that Atemu was waiting for me here.' Heba thought. He walked further into the room and noticed a piece of paper in the bed. Heba picked it up.

_Heba,_

_Meet me in the personal gardens._

_Atemu_

Heba was surprised at this. 'What are you up to, Atemu?' Heba asked himself. He left the room and walked out to the personal gardens that only the Pharaoh and his sons could enter.

Seth and Bakura had permission to go there, too, and Heba, Jou, and Ryou were given the same freedom.

Heba entered the area and looked around, but still didn't see him.

Arms wrapped around Heba's waist from behind and a deep voice said, "I see you got my note."

Heba smiled and said, "Yes. Why did you want me to come here?"

Atemu took Heba's hand and led him over to the bench that was in the garden. "I brought you out here so that I could tell and ask you something."

"What?" Heba asked.

"Heba, when I first saw you, I knew I had fallen for you. I would have done anything to protect you. I was thrilled when I heard that you were a noble because it meant that we could be together. Heba, I never want to be apart from you ever again." Atemu said. He took out a ring with an amethyst gem in it and said, "Heba, will you marry me?"

Heba gasped at the question and said, "Are you serious?"

Atemu nodded. "Very. What do you say?"

Heba smiled widely and jumped on Atemu, hugging him. "Of course I will!"

"I was hoping you'd say that." Atemu said. He put the ring on Heba's finger.

"I love you, Atemu." Heba said.

"I love you, too." Atemu replied before kissing Heba.

* * *

That night, Yami stood on his balcony, looking up into the night sky. He let out a sigh.

At dinner, the engagements had been announced, and the dinner had been in honor of them.

Yami was very happy for them all, but it didn't change how lonely he felt.

"I wish that I had someone, too. My brother, my cousin, and my friend all are engaged, and I'm still alone. I wonder if I'll have someone." Yami said.

He looked up at the sky.

"I pray that Ra will send someone to me. I really need it." Yami said before turning and going back to his room.

* * *

Jou and Seth were laying in their, wrapped up in the sheets.

"When do you think our wedding will be?" Jou asked.

"I'm not sure. There'll be three different weddings. I think my uncle will ant to kill all three of us for this." Seth said.

"Well, I'm glad we are. I want to get married." Jou said.

"We will." Seth said.

"I couldn't be happier. I've wanted this for a long time." Jou said.

"Me and you both." Seth said before kissing him.

* * *

Ryou and Bakura were lying in bed together.

"I love you, Bakura." Ryou said.

"I love you, too. I'm very happy that we're going to get married." Bakura said,

"After three weddings, I thin that the Pharaoh will be out of his mind." Ryou said.

"He will. He's already said that by the time all three of us are married, he's going to want to kill all of us for deciding to get married at the same time." Bakura said.

"In any case, I don't think I've ever been happier than I am now." Ryou said.

"That is something that I am glad to hear." Bakura said and then kissed him.

* * *

Heba and Atemu were in bed together.

"How long had you planned on asking me, Atemu?" Heba asked as Atemu ran his hand through Heba's hair.

"About a week. Why?" Atemu asked.

"That's the only way that dinner could have been planned." Heba said.

Atemu laughed. "You caught me. Seth, Bakura, and I all decided to ask today." Atemu replied.

"Well, I know that none of us could be happier." Heba said.

"I'm glad. After all, you're happiness is all I really want." Atemu said.

The two lovers kissed each other.

* * *

Yami was walking around the gardens, unable to sleep.

Marik entered the gardens and said, "Yami, what are you doing up?'

"Couldn't sleep. You?" Yami replied.

"Same." Marik answered.

The two friends sat down on the bench.

"I was surprised at the engagements announcements. Did you know?" Marik asked.

"I knew Atemu, Seth, and Bakura planned to ask. I wasn't surprised by all three saying yes, though." Yami replied.

"I'm not, either. You can tell that they're in love." Marik said.

"Yeah. I know." Yami said, sounding down-hearted.

"Are you not happy for them?" Marik asked.

"I'm happy for them, but, well-" Yami wasn't sure how to put it.

"You'd like to have someone to love you like they do." Marik supplied.

"Yeah, I do." Yami said. He glanced over at Marik curiously. "How did you know?"

"I feel the same way. I'm happy for them all, but I really want someone, too." Marik said.

"Sounds like you and I are in the exact same boat." Yami said.

"Yeah. Jealous that Atemu, Seth, and Bakura have someone, just not of who they have." Marik said.

"Atemu was worried how I'd react to having a brother-in-law. I already see Heba as a brother so there's nothing to be concerned about there." Yami said.

"That'll be tough, though. Three weddings right there together." Marik said.

"Yeah, but Father knew it was coming." Yami said.

"We'd better go back inside. We both really need to get some sleep." Marik said.

The two stood up, and then both found themselves on the ground. They had been hit in the head with something heavy. Marik was already unconscious, and Yami, through blurred eyes, saw three figures approaching them before he lost consciousness as well.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 1. Sorry that Yugi and Malik weren't in it, but they'll be showing up next chapter.

You'll find out about Yami and Marik in Chapter 3.

Needed to get them engaged.

R&R.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sunlight hit the small figure in the bed. Slowly, amethyst eyes opened and then blinked a few times before the eyes' owner sat up and rubbed his eyes.

The young teen had tri-color shaped hair just like Heba's. The only true difference in this teen and Heba was their skin color. Where Heba had tanned skin, this one had pal skin.

It was Yugi's, the twin brother that Heba believed to be dead.

Yugi climbed out of bed and dressed in a white skirt and a light blue tunic. He out a tan cape on along with triangular earrings and bracelets on both of his wrists.

Yugi left the room and then heard a voice call, "Yugi!" Yugi turned to have a young girl with light brown hair and green eyes in an off-white dress jump into his eyes.

"Good morning, Yugi." the young girl said, looking up at Yugi adoringly.

"Good morning, Rebecca. Did you sleep well?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, I did. What about you?" Rebecca asked as the two walked down the hall.

"I slept fine. Are Grandpa and Arthur up yet?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know. I was just going down for breakfast." Rebecca replied.

"Let's stop by Malik's room and see if he's ready to go down and eat." Yugi said.

Rebecca nodded in agreement.

The two went to a door, and Yugi knocked. "Malik, are you up?" Yugi asked.

The door opened, and Malik stood in a tanned tunic that reached his knees with no sleeves and a bracelet on each wrist. He had hair like Marik, although a little tamer, but it was the same color.

"Morning, Yugi, Rebecca. What is it?" Malik asked.

"We were wondering if you were ready to go eat breakfast?" Yugi asked.

"Sure thing. Let's go. I'm hungry anyway." Malik said.

The two walked down the hall and to the dining room where they found Sugoroku, Yugi's grandfather, and Arthur Hawkins, Rebecca's grandfather and the lord of the Hawkins house, already eating.

"Good morning, you three. Join us." Arthur said.

"Thank you." Yugi said as all three sat down.

Servants brought their food to them, and all three started eating.

"Rebecca, Leon will coming here for a visit today. He'll be staying a week." Arthur siad.

"Really!" Rebecca squealed. She was betrothed to Leon von Schroeder, whom she had come to love although they could not marry until she turned fifteen, and she was thirteen.

"I'd say that leaves me and Yugi to our devices today." Malik said.

"When will Leon arrive, Arthur?" Sugoroku asked.

"He should arrive before lunchtime." Arthur replied.

The group finished breakfast.

"Yugi, could you come help me?" Rebecca asked.

"Sure." Yugi said. He turned to Malik and said, "I'll catch up with you this afternoon."

"No problem, cousin. I'll see you later." Malik said.

Yugi went with Rebecca back up to her room. "Mind telling me what we are doing, Rebecca?" Yugi asked.

"I want you to help me get ready for when Leon comes." Rebecca said as they walked into her room.

"Rebecca, you look fine as you are." Yugi said.

"No I don't! Please help me, Yugi. I want to look good for Leon." Rebecca pleaded.

Yugi smiled gently and said, "Okay, Rebecca."

Rebecca rummaged through her closet and pulled out a pink dress and a blue one. "Which one do you think would look better?'

Yugi looked back and forth between the dresses. "Hmm. I'm not sure. You'd look great in both dresses, Becca, but if I had to choose one, I think that I'd go with the blue one." Yugi said.

"Really?" Rebecca asked.

Yugi nodded. "I just think that blue would suit you better. It brings out your eyes." Yugi said.

Rebecca nodded and scurried off into the bathroom to change.

Yugi shook his head and smiled. 'So enthusiastic and kind and troublesome. So, much like Heba was.' Yugi thought. Thinking of his twin, Yugi sighed. 'I miss him so much. I always wonder what he would have been like had he survived the attack.' Yugi thought.

"What do you think?" Rebecca asked, coming out of the bathroom.

Yugi looked and smiled. "You look great, although I'll kill Leon if he tries anything." Yugi said.

Rebecca giggled. "You don't have to worry. Leon won't do anything. I couldn't get it tied in the back. Could you do that for me, Yugi?" Rebecca asked.

"Sure, Becca." Yugi replied. He stood up and tied the dress in the back.

"What can I do with me hair?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, personally, I thin it looks good like it it, but I do have an idea." Yugi siad.

"Really?" Rebecca asked.

Yugi nodded. "Sit down and I'll do it." Yugi said.

Rebecca nodded and sat down.

Yugi started to work on getting her hair done.

"Yugi, what do you really think of Leon?" Rebecca asked.

"I think that he's a sweet boy who's full of kindness, compassion, and love. I think he'll be good to you when you two do get married." Yugi said.

"Really. You think he's right for me?" Rebecca asked.

"Only you know the answer to that." Yugi siad. He thought a moment and the said, "How do you feel when you're with him?"

"Well, I get this warm feeling. I love being around him. He funny and always makes me laugh. When I'm with him, I just feel, I don't know, like I'm complete. When I'm with him, it's like I could handle anything as long as he's there." Rebecca said.

"Sounds like love to me, Becca. Honestly, there'll never be anyone who meets my complete approval. We've been together for ten years, but Leon's close to being perfect in my opinion." Yugi siad.

"Thanks, Yugi." Rebecca said.

Yugi smiled. "No problem. I'm finished."

Yugi had done two small braids with the back of her hair and tied them together with the two ends hanging down. Her bangs had also been parted.

"Wow! Thanks, Yugi." Rebecca said.

Yugi looked over her jewelry and picked up a necklace with an oval emerald gem. "I think this would look good, too."

Rebecca nodded, and Yugi tied the necklace around her neck.

"If he doesn't think your beautiful, he's blind." Yugi said.

Rebecca smiled at him. "Thanks, Yugi."

"Anything for you, Rebecca. You know that." Yugi said, hugging her.

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in." Rebecca said as she let go of Yugi.

Arthur walked in and said, "Rebecca, Leon has just arrived."

"I'll be down in a minute." Rebecca said.

Arthur nodded and left the room.

"Well, Rebecca. Come on." Yugi said.

"Thanks for all the help, Yugi. I don't know what I'd do without you." Rebecca said.

Yugi smiled at her and said, "I'm sure that you'd find a way. Come on. You don't want to keep Leon waiting."

Rebecca nodded, and the two left the room.

* * *

Leon von Schroeder was waiting with Sugoroku in the main hall.

"How have you been, Leon?" Sugoroku asked.

"I've been well, Lord Mutou." Leon said.

Sugoroku laughed. "I have told you time and time again to just call me Grandpa. Everyone else does." Sugoroku said.

"It just seems to be disrespectful, sir." Leon replied.

"It isn't disrespectful when I tell you to." Sugoroku assured him.

Arthur returned and said, "Rebecca will be down momentarily."

Leon nodded. "Thank you, Lord Hawkins."

Arthur smiled. "No need to thank me."

A few moments later, Rebecca walked into the hall with Yugi behind her.

"Hi, Leon." Rebecca said.

"Hi, Rebecca." Leon said, hugging him.

Yugi smiled to himself. He had to admit that the two looked good together and would make a good couple when they did get married.

"Hello, Yugi." Leon said.

"Leon, it's good to see you again." Yugi said.

"We'll leave you to your own devices." Arthur said.

"We shall see you at lunch." Sugoroku said before walking off.

"Well, I'll let you two be alone." Yugi said.

"You don't have to do that. I'm fine with you being around." Leo said. He had a deep respect for the older boy.

"No. I told Malik I would meet up him. I'll see you two at lunch as well. Excuse me." Yugi said.

"Of course." Leon said.

"We'll see you later, Yugi." Rebecca said.

Yugi smiled at the couple before walking away.

"Yugi is really kind to us. I'm not sure I've ever respected anyone the way I do Yugi." Leon said.

"I know. I've always loved having Yugi here. He's always helping me or Gramps." Rebecca said. She took Leon's hand and said, "Come on. Let's go for a walk in the gardens."

"All right, Rebecca." Leon agreed, and the two headed off to the gardens.

* * *

Yugi walked back to the upper levels of the house and knocked on a door.

"Come in." Malik called.

Yugi opened the door and walked inside. "What are you doing?" Yugi asked as he saw Malik stuff a few pieces of paper into a drawer in the desk.

"Nothing important. Honest." Malik said, smiling innocently.

Too innocently.

"Uh-huh." Yugi said, walking over to the desk. "Then you don't mind if I look at them, do you?" Yugi asked, opening the drawer.

"Yugi, don't!" Malik exclaimed.

Yugi looked at his older cousin. "Malik, I thought that you were going to give up all these pranks and leave Rebecca and Leon alone." Yugi said.

"Oh, come on, Yugi. There's nothing else for us to do. We never leave this place. In ten years, Grandpa hasn't let us leave!" Malik exclaimed.

"It's because he's worried. We are all that he has left, Malik." Yugi said.

Malik fell onto his back on the bed. "I know. I know that we lost everyone in that attack, but that doesn't mean that Grandpa can keep us locked up here for the rest of our lives!" Malik complained.

Yugi sighed. "Malik, he just doesn't want to lose us like he lost everyone else. You, Grandpa, and I are the only members of the House of Ra left." Yugi said.

Malik sighed and sat up. "I know. We know that better than anyone. Our parents. Heba. Ryou. Jou. We lost them all that day. You and I wandered for a few months before Arthur saw us and recognized us. We didn't know that Grandpa was alive until he told us. Grandpa hasn't let us out of here. I want to get out. I want to see other people. I want to have a life outside these walls." Malik said.

Yugi looked at his cousin sadly. He knew how Malik felt. He felt the same way, but he knew that his grandfather only wanted the two of them to remain safe and unharmed.

Malik sat up and said, "Yugi, let's sneak out of here."

"No. Grandpa would have a fit, and the last time you tried that, you got caught." Yugi said.

"We could do if you would help me. You could get us out." Malik said.

"Malik, I am not using my magic so that we can sneak out of the house. You have to be crazy! I don't use my magic to sneak out." Yugi protested.

"Come on, Yugi. Don't you want to see what it's like outside. You can't like being cooped up all the time." Malik said.

Yugi bit his lip. He sighed and said, "No, I don't, but I also respect Grandpa enough to not do it. I now that he seems to be a little strict, but can you blame him? We lost everything. He just doesn't want to lose us, too." Yugi said.

Malik sighed. "Fine. Just don't come crying to me when you get sick and tired of it."

* * *

That night, there was a knock on Yugi's door. "Come in." Yugi called.

The door opened, and Rebecca walked in. "Yugi, can I talk to you for a minute?" Rebecca asked.

"Sure, Becca. Come on in." Yugi said, putting his book down.

Rebecca shut the door and sat on the bed. "I had a great time with Leon today." Rebecca said.

"What did you do?" Yugi asked.

"We walked in the gardens in talked. Gramps talked to us, and he said that they might let us get married early." Rebecca said.

"Really?" Yugi asked.

Rebecca nodded. "My fourteenth birthday is in a few months. If everything works out, we might be able to get married a few months after that." Rebecca said.

Yugi smiled. "It sounds like your very happy about it."

"I am. I would love to get married sooner." Rebecca said dreamily.

Yugi smiled and shook his head. "Becca." he said.

"Hmm." Rebecca said, dazed.

"Could you stop thinking about Leon to talk to me?" Yugi asked.

Rebecca looked over at him and blushed. "Sorry. Are you ever going to get married?" Rebecca asked.

Maybe one day. Of course, it would be a guy I married." Yugi said.

Rebecca giggled. "I know that silly. I just wondered if maybe you would get married one day." Rebecca said.

"I don't know. If I ever find the right person, I might. I would rather marry for love than to just have someone." Yugi said.

"Really?" Rebecca asked.

Yugi nodded. "Love is a rare thing, and I'm happy that you have found that someone. I know that you and Leon will make a good couple, and you already look good together." Yugi said.

"You really think so?" Rebecca asked.

Yugi nodded. "I know so. Now, go to bed. Arthur wouldn't be happy if he knew that you were still up." Yugi ordered.

Rebecca giggled. "Okay, Yugi. Good night." Rebecca said and kissed him on the cheek.

"Good night, Rebecca." Yugi replied as she left the room.

Yugi put out the candles in his room and lay down and fell asleep.

Dream

_"One of the Pharaoh's sons. This is rich. I wonder how much we can get." a man said._

_"Don't know. He's not the Crown Prince like I thought." another said._

_"Doesn't matter. I've heard that the Pharaoh loves both his sons. He'll pay if he wants to see him alive again.." the first man said._

_Yami lay on the ground beside Marik. Both were unconscious._

_"Tie them up. I don't want them escaping." the fist said._

_"Right." the second said and got two people to help him drag the two away_.

End Dream

Yugi woke up with a start and sat up. "What was that?" he asked. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to calm his racing heart. He climbed out of bed and walked out onto the balcony. Yugi looked up into the night sky. 'What are you trying to tell me, Father? Was that just a dream, or a premonition?" Yugi asked.

He received no answer.

Yugi sighed and rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Now Malik will really want to get out of here_."_

* * *

That's all for Chapter 2.

Sprry about not telling about Yami and Marik. That'll come in teh next chapter.

And, F.Y.I., Yugi and Rebecca are NOT and will NOT be in a relationship at any point. Yugi and Rebecca have a brother-sister relationship, nothing more.

Just wanted to clarify that.

R&R.


	3. Chapter 3

Just a little warning that there is a bit of violence in this chapter, but nothing real bad.

* * *

Chapter 3

It was nearly noon at the palace, and Aknankanon was furious.

"Atemu, where is your brother?" Aknankanon demanded when he found Atemu and Heba in the gardens.

"I don't know, Father. I haven't seen him since dinner last night." Atemu replied.

"Heba, have you seen them?" Aknankanon asked.

"No. I last saw him when Atemu and I told him good night before we went to our rooms." Heba answered.

"If he is still in bed, he is in so much trouble." Aknankanon said, heading back inside.

"Come on, Heba. Father might try to kill him." Atemu said, racing after his father.

Heba was right on his fiancé's heels."

Aknankanon arrived at Yami's door and didn't bother knocking as he threw open the door, startling the female servant who was cleaning the room.

"My Pharaoh." the servant said, bowing.

Atemu and Heba were right behind him, worried.

"Where is my son?" Aknankanon asked.

"I do not know, my Pharaoh. I have not seen the Prince today." the servant girl answered.

"Father, maybe he's somewhere in the palace. Yami's hasn't exactly been himself the last week or so." Atemu said. He had seen the depression his brother was in and was concerned.

"Atemu, I want you to find him, and when you do, tell him I want to see him." Aknankanon said.

"Yes, Father." Yami said.

Aknankanon stormed out.

Atemu turned to Heba and said, "Come on. We'd better find him before Father has -" Atemu stopped when he realized that Heba had a worried look on his face. "Heba, what's wrong?" Atemu asked.

Heba ran out.

"Heba!" Atemu exclaimed, running after him.

Heba ignored Atemu and kept running.

Seth, Jou, Ryou, and Bakura were shocked when the two ran by them and followed.

Heba stopped when he came to the personal gardens.

"Heba, what's the matter with you?" Atemu asked.

"He's not here." Heba said.

"What Jou asked?" Jou asked.

"Yami's missing, and Father wants us to find him." Atemu said.

"No, Atemu.' Heba said. H turned to look at them. "Yami is not in the palace. He's nowhere within the palace walls." Heba clarified.

"How do you know?" Bakura asked.

"I can sense magical energy signatures. I leaned the difference in all of your magical signatures. This is the last place I sense Yami, but its weak. He would have been here last night, and I can't sense him at all now." Heba said.

"He's not in the palace." Ryou said.

"Why would Yami sneak out?" Seth asked.

"I don't think he did." Ryou said.

They all turned to see Ryou holding a paper.

"What's that?" Atemu asked.

Ryou just handed it to him.

Atemu read it and his eyes widened.

"What's wrong, Atemu?" Jou asked.

Heba answered for him. "Yami's been kidnapped."

* * *

"KIDNAPPED?!" Aknankanon shouted.

"We found this." Atemu said, handing the paper Ryou had found to Aknankanon.

_Pharaoh,_

_We have your son. If you want to see him alive again, you will give us one thousand gold __coins_

_and one thousand silver coins. If you do not leave the money at the eastern oasis in four days, he will die._

"How did someone get in here?" Aknankanon demanded.

"There's not telling. Maybe we missed something when we secured the palace." Atemu said.

"Or maybe there's a traitor in the palace." Heba stated.

All eyes turned to him.

"There's several secret passages to get out. It would be easy for someone who is in the palace to tell someone or do it themselves." Heba said.

"You think someone would try this?" Seth asked.

"Greed makes people do all kinds of things. Honestly, if there was money involved, I'm pretty sure someone would." Heba said.

"What should we do?" Isis asked.

Aknankanon sighed. "Send Marik here."

It was then Hondo entered. "My Pharaoh, forgive the intrusion, but Captain Marik is missing." Hondo said.

"Missing?!" Aknankanon exclaimed.

"When Yami can't sleep at night, doesn't he go for a walk in the gardens?" Heba asked.

"Yes." Atemu replied.

"Marik does, too." Bakura added.

"If they both had trouble sleeping and were together in the gardens last night, then-" Heba started.

"-they might have been together when Yami was kidnapped and the kidnapper probably had to take them both." Ryou finished.

"What should we do?" Bakura asked.

"Hondo, I want you take soldiers and search for Yami." Aknankanon ordered.

"Yes, my Pharaoh." Hondo said before running out.

"There is not much else we can do." Karim said.

"Seth, get the ransom. I will pay it if it is the only way to save Yami." Aknankanon said.

* * *

Yami groaned and squinted hi eyes open. 'Why's it dark?' Yami asked himself. He raised a hand to rub his head when he heard chains rattling. Yami's eyes shot open and he realized that his hands were changed to a rock wall.

Looking around, Yami noticed Marik beside him.

"Marik, wake up." Yami said, shaking his friend.

Marik groaned and said, "eave me alone, Yami."

"Marik, get up!" Yami shouted in his ear.

Marik jumped and tried to get up only to be dragged down by the chains. Marik's eyes widened in surprise. "What happened?! Why are we chained in the dungeons?!" Marik shouted.

"We're not in the dungeons, Marik." Yami said.

Looking around, Marik realized that he was right. "Where are we?" Marik asked.

"I don't know. The last thing I remember is talking with you in the gardens. I don't know after that." Yami said.

"Well, well. I see the Prince is awake." a voice sneered.

Yami and Marik both looked up to see a raggedy man with black hair and dark dgreen eyes standing in the doorway.

"Who are you?" Yami demanded.

"Shut up! You don't have any power here, Prince. I could have you killed in a split second." the man said.

Yami glared defiantly at him as the an walked forward. Before Yami could react, the man had punched him hard in the jaw. A trickle of blood fell from the corner of Yami's mouth.

"Yami!" Marik shouted, struggling against his chain.

The man then punched Marik hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Hmm. Most pampered people cry when I do that. I guess you actually have some backbone." the man said.

Yami's glare became harsher. "Who are you?" he ground out.

The man smirked. "You may call me Zinfri." the man said.

"What do you want?" Yami asked.

"Money. I'm sure that by now, your father has my ransom note. In fact, I'm quite sure that he will do anything to get you back." Zinfri said.

"Then its all about the money." Marik spat.

"Yes, it is. There's not any other reason to take him. Not like he's the future pharaoh." Zinfri retorted.

"Then why take Marik, too?" Yami asked.

"Simple. You two were together at the time. We couldn't very well take you without taking him, too. He would have tried to stop us." Zinfri said.

"You'd better believe it." Marik stated.

"Well, you'd batter hope that your father meets my demands, or he'll be having a dead son." Zinfri said before leaving the room, shutting the door and locking it.

Yami rested his head back against the rock wall and sighed. "I had to pick last night to take a walk in the gardens." Yami muttered.

"It wasn't your fault. Are you okay?" Marik asked.

Yami wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "Yeah. You've hit me harder than that. You?" Yami replied.

"Fine. That guy couldn't do too much to me although I'd like to wipe that smirk off his face." Marik said.

"I'd like to know how they managed to get inside the palace." Yami stated.

"I don't see how. I swear to you that I made sure every inch of the palace was secure after Mentrab got in so easily." Marik said.

"We'll worry about how he got in the palace later. Right now, we'd better figure out how to get out of this mess. I'd prefer to get out of here now before they decide to kill us." Yami said.

"We can't. These chains are strong, and neither of us have a dagger or anything like that." Marik said.

"Fantastic. Then all that we can do is wait and see what happens." Yami said.

"Not to worry you or anything, but they might still kill us if they get the ransom." Marik said.

"I already knew that. Dang it! I should have paid more attention to those magic lessons Heba had been giving me and Atemu." Yami said.

"It was easy for Atemu to pay attention." Marik said.

"Yeah. I can't imagine how they feel." Yami said.

* * *

"Are you serious, Yugi?" Malik asked.

'Yeah. I thought at first that it might have just been a dream, but I'm beginning to think that Father might be giving me premonitions. I've had three visions, and its only halfway through the morning, and that doesn't include the dream I had last night." Yugi said.

"What do you think it means?" Malik asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think that one of the Pharaoh's sons might be in danger." Yugi said.

"Well, there's not much that we can do from in here." Malik said.

"Malik, come with me." Yugi said.

Malik followed Yugi into the library.

"Those outside this room, No longer our words will they hear." Yugi chanted.

"Yugi, why did you put a silencing spell on the room?" Malik asked.

"Malik, I think we need to sneak out and try to help the Prince." Yugi said.

"Sneak out?!" Malik exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

"Yeah. I need your help to pull this off. Usually, I'm against stuff like this, but these premonitions are just way too strong. I can't ignore them. Malik, it was always the duty of our family to protect the Royal family. I think we need to continue doing that." Yugi said.

"Are you sure that it's a premonition?" Malik asked.

Yugi nodded. "Malik, its way too real to be anything else. I've seen the two in my visions. If we don't do something, they might end up dead." Yugi said.

"Do you know where they are?" Malik asked.

"No, but I know a way to find out. I know who I'm looking for, so a locator spell should work to find him." Yugi said.

Malik began to search the room. "Okay. Here's a map of the Egypt." Malik said, spreading the map out across the table.

Yugi looked at it and placed a hand on the map. He gasped as he suddenly saw a vision of an area in Egypt.

"Yugi, what is it?" Malik asked, concerned for his younger cousin.

"We don't need the locator spell. I know where they are. Here." Yugi said pointing to an area on the map.

"Yugi, there's nothing there but sand. You know that." Malik said.

"Malik, you have heard Arthur say that raiders have underground hideouts, or that they hide out in caves, right?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah." Malik replied.

"I think that they were in a cave. They wouldn't want their hideout to be seen." Yugi said.

"Then we sneak out tonight." Malik said excitedly.

"Grandpa may kill us for this, but yes. I don't want anything to happen to one of the Pharaoh's sons." Yugi said.

"Great. What do we do?" Malik asked.

"The first thing that we're going to do is find the exact location of their hideout. We'll probably have to use our magic to get in. We'll have to find the Prince, and I saw another captive in my visions. I think they're together. We'll have to save both of them." Yugi said.

"Then, the rest of the plan is going to be improvised, isn't it?" Malik asked.

"Yes, it is." Yugi replied.

"Good. I really hate it when every little detail is planned out. I like being spontaneous." Malik said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Malik, be serous. You have to remember that two lives are depending on us. We can't mess up, or they could pay for it with their lives." Yugi waned.

"I know. We'll succeed." Malik said.

Yugi nodded. 'Father, I hope that we are doing what it is that you want me to do.' Yugi thought silently.

* * *

Atemu lay on his bed, his face buried in the pillow.

Heba climbed up onto the bed and gently rubbed his back. "Atemu, I know that you're worried about Yami, but you can't think like he's dead." Heba said.

Atemu sat up and faced Heba. "How do you know that? For all we know, these people could have killed Yami already."

"Atemu, do you honestly believe, knowing Yami, that he's dead?" Heba asked.

Atemu sighed. "No, but it doesn't stop me form worrying. Yami's my younger brother. In all our lives, we've never been apart for even a whole day. It's been almost one, and I'm about to go crazy." Atemu said, getting up and starting to pace.

"I now what you're going through. I felt the same way after the attack on my home ten years ago. It drove me crazy when I thought about Yugi," Heba said.

Atemu stopped and looked over at his lover guiltily. "I'm sorry, Heba." Atemu apologized.

Heba looked up at him in surprise. "What in the name of Ra are you apologizing for?' Heba asked.

"I forgot that you went through the exact same thing with your brother. It must have brought back bad memories." Atemu said.

Heba smiled. "I accepted my brother's death only a year ago. It took a lot to let go. Don't worry. Yami's strong, and he's got Marik with him. You know how stubborn and hard-headed those two are. They'll be just fine." Heba said.

* * *

Yami was sent crashing back into the rock wall and hid his wince at the pain he felt. He was bruised, bloodied, and beaten..

Zinfri frowned. "Have you never heard of the word pain?"

Yami didn't answer. He just glared at his captor.

"You're lucky that I need you alive for the ransom, or I'd slice your throat right now." Zinfri threatened.

Yami still didn't offer a response. He knew that if he said one word, he would just get beaten even more.

Zinfri growled and punched Yami in the stomach again.

Yami went to his hands and knees, gasping for breath.

"You really don't make it any for me. I've had other thieves give me more of a reaction than you do." Zinfri said.

Yami completely ignored him.

Zinfri kicked Yami in the chest again before turning and said, "Get him out of here."

Two thieves grabbed Yami and dragged him out of the room and brought him back to the room where Marik was.

Marik wasn't in any better shape than Yami.

The thieves chained Yami back up and left the room.

Yami groaned. "All those lessons when I completely tuned Mahado out really helped here." Yami said. He knew that if he had said one word, he would have been beaten even more. Yami reached over and checked on Marik, and was relieved to find that he was alive. "I hope that someone finds us soon, or both of us will wind up being killed." Yami said. He leaned back against the wall and sighed. "Looks like I'll never have the chance find love." Yami muttered before he drifted off into a pain-induced sleep.

* * *

That's all for Chapter 3, and I'm sorry for those who hate it when Yami gets beat up like that. You'll see the reason in the next few chapters.

R&R.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the recue scene. Hope you like it.

* * *

Chapter 4

Yugi and Malik met up in the gardens.

"Okay. Are you ready?" Yugi asked.

Malik nodded. "I am more than ready to get out of this place." Malik said.

"Don't forget why we are leaving." Yugi warned.

Malik sighed. "I now. We're saving the Prince and the guy trapped with him." Malik replied.

The pair sneaked into the stables and found the two horses that they liked.

"Shh." Yugi said, gently petting the horse to keep him quiet.

"Let's go." Malik said.

The two led the horses to a secluded area of the enclosed house.

"Think you can get us out of here?" Malik asked.

"Yes." Yugi replied. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, they were glowing gold. Yugi held up his hand and said, "In place of this stone wall, a doorway now appears."

A gold light seemed to emanate from the stone wall, and a small section vanished, letting them see outside.

Quickly, Yugi and Malik led the horses through the opening, and Yugi snapped his fingers, returning the wall to his normal state.

"You have got to teach me how to do all that." Malik said.

"Not a chance. You'd only use it to wreak havoc all over the place." Yugi replied.

Malik and Yugi mounted their horses and made the horses start running.

"You do know where we are going, right, Yugi?" Malik asked.

"Yes. It may take us a little while to get there, but I know exactly where to go." Yugi replied.

"I just hope that we are not too late." Malik said.

"I don't think so. If my premonition was accurate, which they usually don't mislead me, then the kidnappers planned to demand a ransom of some sort from the Pharaoh. He wouldn't risk killing the Prince. Not when he could get as much money as he wanted from the Pharaoh." Yugi replied.

"The only problem is that it doesn't stop him from harming them, and raiders do tend to let themselves get out of control when they are beating the crap out of someone. And just who is this guy that is with the Prince?" Malik asked.

"I don't know, but its clear that he is a captive as well." Yugi said. He gasped as he suddenly saw a vision of Yami and Marik, both chained in a room, badly beaten.

"Yugi, did you just have another premonition?" Malik asked, stopping his horse.

"Yes. We don't have much time. Their lives are at stake." Yugi said.

Both started again, praying that they would arrive to save them both in time.

* * *

Zinfri growled. "Beating that worthless son of the Pharaoh is no fun. He doesn't react at all to pain. You'd think he'd been beaten his entire life." Zinfri said.

"Who cares? As soon as you get the ransom, you can kill him and that guard, too. Not like anyone will miss him." a raider said.

Zinfri turned and grabbed the raider by the throat. "Are you mad?! The Pharaoh already has troops out scouring the desert in search of those two. If we kill them and the Pharaoh gets his hands on us, we're dead." Zinfri said.

The raiders eyes widened, not having considered the possibility.

Zinfri threw the raider to the ground and said, "Get out of here."

The raider ran out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

Zinfri let out an aggravated sigh as he sat down. "I'm surrounded by a bunch of idiots. They don't think about the possible consequences."

"Neither do you." a female voice said from behind.

Zinfri turned to see a shadowed figure in the shadowy area of the room. "What are you doing here, sorceress?" Zinfri asked.

"You have not thought this plan through." the sorceress said.

"I didn't plan this. Those idiots were the ones who kidnapped those two. I just took advantage of the situation." Zinfri said.

"Do not take my words lightly. Do not forget that three members of the House of Ra live. They have strong magic that could easily bring you to ruins." the sorceress said.

"You were the one who said that you would protect me if I were to help you bring down the House of Ra. I convinced my brother to help me do just that." Zinfri said.

"Yes. I would protect you only if you brought down that house. The only one. I will give you no protection for this plot of yours." the sorceress said.

Zinfri jumped up. "You had better protect me, or the Pharaoh will find out that you were the one behind the whole plot." Zinfri threatened. He was then pinned to the wall, unable to move.

The sorceress had her hand held up, a dark glow coming from it. "Do not threaten me, thief. I have kept my word and protected you from all the Pharaoh's actions as far as the House of Ra goes. Your actions against the Pharaoh's son are your own. I had nothing to do with them. Do not seek to arouse my wrath, for I can cause you far much more pain and suffering than the Pharaoh could ever hope to bring upon you." the sorceress said.

"Fine." Zinfri spat.

The sorceress lowered her hand, and Zinfri fell to the ground.

Zinfri glared at her and said, "I won't fail in my plan. After all, once I get the ransom, I'll be rid of the Prince and that stupid guard once and for all., and I'll escape from Egypt." Zinfri turned and left the room.

'Fool. He does not realize that the Pharaoh will not allow him to get away with these actions. The Pharaoh will hunt him down no longer how long it takes.' the sorceress thought.

* * *

Yami groaned as he opened his eyes. His head was killing him along with his back. For that matter, he wasn't sure that there wasn't a part of body wasn't hurting.

"Yami, you okay?" Marik asked.

Yami turned to look at him and said, "I'm just perfect. And you?"

"No need to be sarcastic. And I'm doing just about as well as you are." Marik replied.

"We haven't been here a full day, and we've already been beaten down. I can't imagine going through this everyday." Yami said.

"The sad thing is that thee are people who go through this type of thing for days on end, and it looks like we might have to deal with that." Marik said.

"I don't think that we've ever done anything that has gotten us in as much trouble as we are in now, and we didn't even do anything this time." Yami said.

"I know. We can only hope that someone comes and helps us." Marik said.

"I'm not sure there's much of a chance of something like that happening." Yami said.

* * *

Yugi pulled on the reigns of his horse, causing the horse to come to a halt.

Malik also stopped his own horse. "Yugi, what is it?" Malik asked.

"We're close. It might be best if we go the rest of the way on foot. There's less chance of us being seen that way." Yugi said.

Malik nodded, and they dismounted from their horses.

The two moved ahead, cautious not to allow themselves to be seen.

Malik looked ahead and said, "That's looks like an oasis of some sort."

"Yeah. Let's check it out." Yugi said.

The two snuck to the edge of the oasis and looked in to see a bunch of raiders camping out.

"I'd say that we found them." Malik whispered.

Yugi nodded, his eyes already scanning the area. He nudged Malik and pointed to where there was an opening to a cave.

"You think that's where they have the Prince?" Malik asked.

"Might. We'll need to get around all the raiders first." Yugi said.

The cave was on the other side of the oasis, across from where they were.

Malik looked over at his younger cousin. "How do you plan on getting us across?" Malik asked.

"Come on. We're going to try and get around them from the outside of the oasis. Keep your guard up." Yugi said.

Malik nodded and followed Yugi as he started to walk back to the outside of the oasis and started to walk around. The two kept their eyes trained on the inside of the oasis, watching the sleeping raiders.

Yugi suddenly grabbed Malik and pulled him into the safety of the trees.

Malik looked at Yugi questioningly.

Yugi pointed up, where Malik saw a raider in a tree, watching out for anyone trying to enter the oasis. From their position under the tree, the two were concealed from the lookout.

Malik looked at Yugi, asking with his eyes what they were supposed to do now.

Yugi glanced back into the oasis and saw that they were only halfway to the cave. He knew that they had a long way to go to get there.

Yugi put his finger to his lips, signaling to Malik that he needed to stay quiet.

Malik nodded, saying that he understood.

Yugi glanced up at the lookout and then into the oasis before running to the next tree over. He motioned for Malik to do the same.

Taking the same precaution as Yugi, Malik ran to the next tree to join them.

They did this over and over again until they came to a clump of bushes that was close to the oasis. The two peered through the bushes and noticed that there were two guards standing outside of the cave entrance.

"Of course." Malik muttered.

Yugi covered his mouth, shaking his head.

Malik nodded, realizing that talking could give them away.

The two guards, having heard something in the bushes, walked over to investigate. Before either raider could react, they were pulled into the bushes with their mouths covered so that they could not make any noise.

Malik punched both raiders in the face, knocking them out with the one blow.

Yugi found a set of keys on one of the guars and took them out, knowing that they might need them later.

Stealthily, Yugi and Malik made their way out into the open, walking toward the cave entrance. They kept watching to see if any of the sleeping raiders or the lookout saw, but no one seemed to. The two snuck into the cave and were surprised to see that it was a long hallway.

"They must have carved this out to suit their needs." Yugi whispered.

"How do we find the Prince?" Malik asked.

Yugi motioned for him to follow.

When they came to the first door, Yugi opened the door enough to see a sleeping man in the room. Quietly, Yugi shut the door again, and they continued on their way.

Malik opened the next door to find all kinds of jewels and treasures inside the room. "Talk about a treasure cave." Malik muttered.

"Let's keep going." Yugi muttered.

Malik nodded and shut the door again.

They kept this up until they came to a door with a small opening along with metal bars across the opening.

Yugi looked in through the bars and his eyes widened. He saw the sleeping forms of Yami and Marik. He turned to Malik and nodded, telling him it was them.

Malik nodded in understanding and tried to open the door only to find that the door was locked.

Yugi took out the keys he had taken from the raider earlier and tried the first key, but it didn't work. He tried the next key, but it also didn't work. When Yugi turned the third key in the lock, he heard the lock turn. Yugi pushed open the door and walked inside quietly. He motioned for Malik to shut the door, which he did.

Malik was startled to find two people who looked so much like them.

Yugi knelt down beside Yami and checked to make sure he was still alive.

Malik did the same with Marik.

Yami began to stir.

Yugi covered Yami's mouth with his hand as he covered to keep him from screaming.

Yami's eyes widened as he realized that this was someone different. He thought it was Heba at first, but noticed that his skin tone was like his own, pale.

Malik slammed his hand over Marik's mouth to keep him from shouting when he stirred.

"Please, don't yell. If you do, you'll give us away, and we'll have to deal with all those raiders, so please, if you value your life, don't yell." Yugi said.

Yami nodded his head.

Slowly, Yugi removed his hand from Yami's mouth.

"Who are you?" Yami asked.

"There's not time to explain." Yugi replied. He used one of the other keys to unlock the chains that held Yami's wrists before tossing the keys to Malik, who unlocked the chains around Marik's wrists.

"We need to get out of here before we are caught." Yugi said, helping Yami to his feet.

Marik tried to stand up, but fell.

"Marik, are you all right?" Yami asked, holding his side.

"Not really. I'm not sure I can walk." Marik replied.

Malik helped Marik up and pit Marik's arm around his neck and put his arm around Marik's waist. "Then I'll help you. There's no way that we're leaving you behind." Malik said.

"Why are you helping us?" Marik asked.

"We'll explain later. I promise that we will, but I'd prefer to explain it to you somewhere we are safe and in no danger than here where we could be killed if we are found." Yugi said.

"He's right. You can explain it later." Yami agreed.

Yugi opened the door and peered outside, making sure that it was safe for them to escape. He motioned for them to follow him, and the group slowly made their way through the cave back toward the entrance. They looked out and saw that all of the raiders were still asleep.

"You got in through all of them?" Yami asked.

"Yeah. Come on, but don't talk. There's less chance of them finding us that way." Yugi said.

The group made their way back to the bushes and found that the two guards from before were still unconscious.

Being careful of the lookout above, Yugi made his way from one tree to the next. Making sure it was safe, Yugi motioned for Yami to come, which he did. Malik followed with Marik behind them.

It wasn't long before the four made their way to other end of the oasis and started away from it.

"How do we get away from here?" Yami asked.

"We have some horses not far off. We'll use them." Yugi replied.

They heard a shout and looked back to see the raiders running around.

"I think they know that we're missing." Marik said.

"Yugi, we'd better hurry." Malik said.

"Come on." Yugi said.

They hurried on their way until they came across the two horses

"We'll never outrun them." Yami said.

"Never planned to. We have a way to get past this." Yugi said.

"How?" Marik asked.

"Just come with us and you'll see." Malik said.

Marik's eyes narrowed. "Why should we trust you?" Marik asked.

"We just saved your lives." Malik retorted.

"Doesn't mean that we should trust you." Marik said.

"Marik, I would much rather take my chances going with them than going back to the raiders, and there is no way that I am going to leave you behind." Yami said.

Yugi climbed onto his horse and helped Yami up onto the horse as well.

Malik helped Marik get on the horse before climbing on the horse himself.

Malik and Yugi took the reigns of the horses and started them galloping.

The sound of the raiders could be heard behind them.

"They're going to catch us!" Yami exclaimed.

"No, they're not." Yugi said.

Soon, they came upon an area of the desert that was near the Nile and head many caves surrounding it.

Yugi and Malik ran their horses into it to stop.

The two climbed down and looked out to the raiders coming.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Marik asked..

"We're not helpless. If they come, we'll be able to handle them." Malik said.

"That's very comforting." Mark said sarcastically.

"Marik, not now." Yami said. He was tired, injured, and irritable and didn't feel like dealing with Marik's sarcasm at the moment.

Yugi and Malik were ready for if the raiders managed to find them. They noticed that the raiders had split up. There were only four heading their way.

"You've got to be kidding me. Taking out four of them will be all too easy to me." Malik said.

Yugi's eyes widened. "Don't get too cocky, Malik. I sense that they have magic." Yugi said.

"How could raiders have magic?" Malik asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time I've seen that." Yami said.

"I guess that means that we might have to use our own." Malik said.

"You two have magic?" Marik asked.

"Yeah, we do." Malik replied.

"No, we don't. There's a better way out of this, but no one talk until I say so." Yugi said.

"Why?" Yami asked.

"Please. Just trust me." Yugi said.

Yami wasn't sure why, but he did trust the younger teen. "All right. We won't." he agreed.

"The raiders who seek us, no longer will they see us this night." Yugi said.

Marik and Yami glanced at each other, each wondering exactly what it was that Yugi had done.

A moment later, a raider looked inside the cave.

Yami and Marik were about to panic until they realized that the raider wasn't reacting.

"No one's inside the one." the raider called.

"Then let's keep looking." a second said.

The two raiders kept on moving.

Yami wanted to ask what was going on, but decided to keep his word to Yugi and not say anything.

"Looks like they're gone." Malik whispered.

"Not for long. We'll have to wait it out." Yugi said.

"How?" Marik asked.

"We'll go deeper in the cave. My invisibility spell will remain active until Ra rises. They won't see us." Yugi said.

"Then why go deeper in the cave?" Marik asked.

"Never hurts to be cautious." Yugi replied.

The four headed on into the caves and found an area to sit.

"Who are you two?" Yami asked.

"My name's Yugi. This is my older cousin, Malik. I get premonitions, or visions, and I had one that you two were in danger. I've never ignored them before, and I decided not to ignore them now." Yugi explained.

"Where are you two from?" Marik asked.

"Our home and family were destroyed years ago. We have lived in Lord Hawkins' home since then." Malik replied.

"Lord Hawkins? He's a good friend of my father's. We haven't seen him in years though." Yami said.

"I'm not too thrilled about going back, though. When my grandfather finds out about our leaving, he'll be upset." Yugi said.

"Even though you save our lives?" Yami asked.

Yugi nodded. "We had to sneak out to do this. I know that he'll be glad we rescued you both, but we're still in trouble." Yugi said.

The group waited about an hour before checking outside the cave.

"Looks like they may have given up." Malik said.

"We'll take the chance and try to get back." Yugi said.

All four got on the two horses and headed back toward the Hawkins house.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 4. I hope you liked the rescue. Zinfri will get his later on. Still need him right now though.

R&R.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Heba stood in the library, looking through several different books in Mahado's archives.

The door opened, and Jou and Ryou walked into the room.

"You couldn't sleep, either, huh?" Jou asked.

Heba sighed. "No. I'm too worried about Yami. I keep thinking that there must be something we can do to help the Pharaoh find Yami." Heba said.

"Don't do this, Heba. There's nothing that we could have done to prevent any of this." Ryou told him.

"I know, but we're descendants of the House of Ra. We're supposed to protect the Royal family. Yami's kidnapping proves that we failed in that." Heba said.

"Yeah. I feel the same way. We should have sensed that something was wrong." Jou agreed.

"What were you doing in here, Heba?" Ryou asked.

"I was looking through Mahado's archives. I was hoping that I could find something out." Heba said.

"Heba, the only person who could know something would have been Yugi. He had the power of premonition, not you." Ryou said.

"I know. If Yugi had been here, he would have had a premonition of this, and even if he couldn't have stopped the kidnapping from happening, he would have at least known where to look for him." Heba said.

"We can't beat ourselves up over this. There's not much that we can do right now. We're just going to have to leave this in the Pharaoh's hands, and hope that Yami is returned unharmed." Ryou said.

"There's not a chance he'll return unharmed. Whoever kidnapped him isn't going to just sit around for three days and do nothing to him." Heba said.

"Then when the Pharaoh gets his hands on them, they'll end up being dead." Jou said.

* * *

Yugi and Malik were making their way back toward their home with Marik and Yami in tow.

"How much further is this place?" Marik asked.

Yugi looked ahead and said, "We'll be there in about fifteen minutes or so."

"Good. I'm sick of riding this horse." Marik said.

"Marik, stop complaining. It's better than getting the crap beat out of us." Yami said.

"Well, now we'll get an earful from Grandpa." Malik said.

"I thought you two were cousins." Yami said.

"We are." Yugi replied.

"Then why do you have the same grandfather?" Yami asked.

"Oh. He's not my grandfather. He's actually my uncle, but I just call him Grandpa. He prefers it that way since Yugi and I grew up together, and we pretty much act like brothers more so than cousins." Malik explained.

"I take it that you two are close." Yami said.

"Well, when you're the only family you have left, you tend to feel that way." Yugi replied.

Ahead, a house could be seen.

"There it is." Yugi said.

As they drew closer, they could see that there were people waiting for them.

"Uh-oh. I think that we're in for it now." Malik said.

Yugi and Malik stopped their horses in front of the people and dismounted.

"Yugi! Malik! Where have you two been?! You know that you're not allowed to leave!" Sugoroku said angrily.

"Grandpa, I know, but there was something that had to be done." Yugi said.

Yami and Marik both got off the horses, but needed Yugi and Malik to help them stay on their feet.

"What happened here?" Arthur asked.

"This is Prince Yami and Captain Marik. They were both kidnapped from the Palace, and we were able to rescue them. They need the healer to look at them." Yugi explained.

Immediately, Arthur called two guards to help Yami and Marik to the healers.

Arthur followed the guards.

Sugoroku motioned for Malik and Yugi to follow him, which they did. The three went into Sugoroku's study.

"Tell me exactly what happened." Sugoroku said.

"I had a dream a few nights ago that the Prince was in danger. I wasn't sure if I should take it seriously, but I had four visions the next morning before lunch, and I knew that they were real. I told Malik, and we decided that we needed to go and try to help them." Yugi said.

"We snuck out last night and managed to find the raiders' hideout. We were able to sneak in and rescue the Prince and the captain. We escaped pretty much easily. The raiders did follow, but we hid out in a cave for an hour, and Yugi cast an invisibility spell so that they would not see us. Once we sure it was safe, we headed back here." Malik added.

"I see. Why did you choose to go?" Sugoroku asked.

"Grandpa, it's the duty of the House of Ra to protect the Royal family. Just because our home is gone doesn't erase our duty. We went to help the Prince because it was part of our families' heritage. We did it out of a sense of duty." Yugi said.

Sugoroku was impressed and pleased with the answers. "It seems that I have misjudged you both. I see now that you can take up the duty of your family with honor. You choice to go and help Prince Yami proves that to me." Sugoroku said.

"What does that mean?" Malik asked.

"It means that I was wrong to keep up locked up as I have. I am sorry fort hat, but I was worried." Sugoroku said.

"We know, Grandpa, and we understand. We're all that any of us have left, so we can see that." Yugi told us.

"Does this mean we're not getting in trouble?" Malik asked.

"I don't know yet. We'll see. Come. Let's go and see how the Prince and the captain are doing.' Sugoroku said.

Yugi and Malik nodded and followed Sugoroku out of the room.

* * *

Yami and Marik had been looked over by the healer and were found to have a few broke ribs, but nothing more serious than that. Unfortunately, there was nothing that the healer could do for them.

"I am sorry that there is nothing more we can do for you." Arthur apologized.

"Please don't apologize, Lord Hawkins. The healer at the palace could do nothing more than what your healer has done." Yami replied.

Sugoroku, Yugi, and Malik had entered to hear the two talking.

"Arthur, perhaps Yugi and Malik should show the Prince and the captain to rooms where they can rest." Sugoroku suggested.

"A good idea." Arthur agreed.

Yami and Marik got off of the beds and followed Yugi and Malik out of the room.

"Sugoroku, what should we do now?" Arthur asked.

"We shall make plans to go to the Palace so that Prince Yami and Captain Marik can be taken back. I am certain that they will want to return home as soon as they can." Sugoroku replied.

"I shall make the arrangements." Arthur said.

"Yugi, Malik, and I shall accompany them." Sugoroku said.

"Is there a reason?" Arthur asked.

"You know the kind of magic that Yugi and Malik possess. It is their duty to protect the Royal family, and I believe that they will want to follow through with that." Sugoroku replied.

"Very well. I believe Rebecca and I will go as well. Leon, too. I have business at the Palace, anyway." Arthur said.

Sugoroku nodded. "Yugi and Malik will be able to offer a great deal of protection for the Prince." Sugoroku said.

* * *

Yugi and Malik led Yami and Marik through the halls of the house.

Marik was grimacing from the pain.

"Marik, you okay?" Yami asked.

"Yeah. They didn't hold back when they beat the crap out of me." Marik replied.

Yami felt a little guilty. He knew that it was because of him that Marik was injured in the first place.

"Maybe we should have just killed all of those raiders." Malik said angrily.

Yugi sighed. "Malik, you know that there was a chance that we would not have made it out alive if we had to face all of the raiders." Yugi said.

"He's right. You did the right thing. We're both alive, after all." Marik said.

"Although I might be able to do something to help you out." Yugi said.

"Like what?" Marik asked.

"Let's just say that my little cousin is better than any healer." Malik said.

"What do you mean?" Yami asked.

"Just trust me." Yugi said. He put his hand on Marik's chest and closed his eyes. A golden glow emitted from his hand and surrounded Marik.

Marik's eyes widened when he realized that all of the pain he was feeling was gone. "What did you do? My body doesn't hurt at all now." Marik said.

"My magic gives me the ability to heal injuries. That's what I did." Yugi replied.

"Let's get you two to your rooms. You both still need to rest." Malik said.

Yugi led the way down the hall and Malik showed Marik into one of the guest room while Yugi showed Yami to one of the other guest rooms.

"If you need anything, I can get one of the servants to get whatever you need, Prince." Yugi said.

"No. I'll be fine. All I really need is to get some rest. And please just call me Yami. I hate all of the formalities." Yami said.

Yugi smiled. "Sure." He frowned when he noticed Yami wince as he sat down on the bed. "I could heal your injuries, too." Yugi said.

"It's fine. I'll be all right." Yami assured him.

"Yami, one thing that I never let up on is someone who is hurt. It's no trouble for me to heal your injuries." Yugi said.

"It must take some of your strength to do that, though." Yami said.

"It takes a little, but it doesn't harm me. Trust me. I know my own limits, and I have not reached them." Yugi said.

Yami sighed. "You're stubborn, you know that." Yami said.

"Yes, I am." Yugi replied.

"All right. Fine. Go ahead." Yami told him.

Yugi walked over to Yami and placed his hand on his chest before closing his eyes and the same gold glow emitted, healing Yami.

Yami was surprised at how much better he felt. "Thank you, Yugi." he said.

Yugi blushed at that and looked away.

Yami couldn't help but think of how cute Yugi looked like that.

"I'm sure that Arthur will have someone bring some new clothes for you to wear, although they may not be what you are used to." Yugi said.

"It's fine. I'm just grateful to be out of that place. I never did properly thank you for saving my life." Yami said.

Yugi's blush deepened. "You do not need to. I am just glad that I was able to help you, Yami." Yugi said.

Yami smiled. He'd never met someone who had made him feel so at ease.

"I'll leave you to rest." Yugi said before leaving.

Yami watched as Yugi closed the door. 'Such a beautiful person. I thought that when I first saw him when he saved me from those raiders. He just seems to radiate kindness, purity, and compassion.' Yami thought. His eyes widened when he realized what exactly it was that he had just thought. "BY Ra! I think I have a crush on him!" Yami exclaimed.

* * *

Malik led Marik into the guest room. "It may not be as elaborate as the Palace, but you can get anything you need. Any of the servants will get things for you. I'm sure that Arthur will have some new clothes sent to you." Malik said.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine. Much better than still being a prisoner." Marik said.

"Well, I'll leave you to rest." Malik said and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute, Malik." Marik said.

Malik stopped and turned back to face Marik.

"I wanted to thank you for coming and rescuing Yami and me. You didn't have to do it, but you did. For that, you'll always have my gratitude." Marik said.

Malik smiled at him. "You don't have to thank me. Yugi and I were raised to do the right thing. We just did what we thought was right." Malik said.

Marik walked up to him. "No one's ever had to rescue me before. I don't like feeling helpless the way I did then. It's my duty to protect the Prince, but I failed. It makes me feel like I'm not able to do my duty." Marik said.

"Marik, you shouldn't let yourself get so upset about it. You were taken off guard. Chances are that it wouldn't have mattered which guard was with the Prince at the time. I am certain that the outcome would have been no different." Malik said.

"You say that like you know everything." Marik said.

"I don't, but I know what it feels like to feel like I failed. I was young when I lost my brother and my cousins. I was the oldest of all of us, and I felt like I let them down. It was a long time before I was able to forgive myself. You didn't fail because the Prince is alive and well. Be thankful for that." Malik said.

"I am. Believe me. I am. I grew up with Yami, so I ma very glad that he is alive and well. I know that the Pharaoh will be glad to his son." Marik said.

"Unharmed considering I know Yugi most likely healed him by this time." Malik added.

"Yeah. You understand a lot better than I thought you would." Marik said.

"It's your duty to protect the Prince. I feel its fine to protect my younger cousin. We both have charges we care a great deal about. We have a lot more in common than either of us realized at first." Malik replied.

Unconsciously, the two had moved closer to each other.

"Yeah. I guess so." Marik agreed.

Slowly, the two moved their heads closer as their lips met in a kiss. The kiss was slow and sensual.

Finally, they broke apart.

"I guess the feeling is mutual." Marik said.

"Is it possible to fall in love so quickly?" Malik asked.

"Yes, it is. It's called love at first sight. I know that its true because the Crown Prince and two of the priests went through the exact same thing." Marik replied.

"Well, I guess I'll have to talk to grandpa about this." Malik said.

* * *

Atemu walked into his room and fell face-first on the bed beside Heba.

"Atemu, are you okay?" Heba asked.

"Not really. Father's really worried about Yami. He's worried that we won't get there in time." Atemu said.

"What do you think?" Heba asked.

Atemu turned to face Heba. "I honestly don't know. I want to believe that Yami is alive, but the truth is, that with raiders, there's no way to tell." Atemu said.

"You're thinking logically. What do you believe in your heart?" Heba asked.

Atemu sighed. "I think that Yami is going to come back and try to find the ones who took him because he is going to want revenge so badly that e can't stand it. He hates to feel like he's weak." Atemu said.

"Then stop worrying." Heba said. He kissed Atemu chastely. "After all, Yami's a very strong individual. He'll get out of this alive, and so will Marik." Heba said.

"I know. I would just feel better if he was here now." Atemu said.

* * *

Seth walked into his room, rubbing his ears.

"Uh, Seth. Something wrong with your ears?" Jou asked.

"Yeah. My uncle yelling so loud at the soldiers that have been unable to find a trace of Yami." Seth said.

"Worried about him?" Jou asked.

"Yami's my younger cousin. Of course I'm worried about him. He's never been gone this long." Seth said, sitting on the bed.

"You know your cousin. Yami's a very stubborn, hard-headed person. He'll come back ready to hunt them down and make them pay." Jou said.

"That sounds about right. Yami always was one to act in anger." Seth said.

Jou sat up and kissed Seth lightly. "It'll work out. I don't know how, but it will." Jou said.

Seth sighed. "I just hope Yami gets his butt back here fast. I really would like for my uncle to stop yelling so loud that the entire court winds up deaf." Seth said.

* * *

Bakura walked into his room, rubbing his forehead. "I get that Aknankanon is angry that Yami hasn't been found, but does he have to yell so much." Bakura said.

"He's a worried father. I doubt that he's worried about decorum at the moment." Ryou said.

"I know he's not meaning to do it, but its not going to help find Yami." Bakura said.

Ryou smiled. "It'll end once Yami's found." Ryou said.

"No. It'll end when the ones involved in the kidnapping are all captured and punished." Bakura said.

"Do you blame the Pharaoh for wanting revenge?" Ryou asked.

"No. I do, too." Bakura said.

Ryou smiled and kissed Bakura. "You still have the mind of a thief." Ryou said.

"Yes, and that is something that is never going to change about me, so you'd better get used to it." Bakura said.

* * *

Zinfri threw a goblet into the wall. "Idiots!" He picked up a plate and threw it. "Imbeciles!" He threw a chest into the wall. "Incompetent morons!"

"Why are you so angry?" the sorceress asked.

"Those fools allowed the Prince to escape." Zinfri said.

"I see. How do you suppose that happened?" the sorceress asked.

"I don't know, but both of them did. We searched all night for them, but there was still no sign of them." Zinfri said.

"I believe that your deal with the pharaoh has been broken." the sorceress said.

"You have to do something. You need to find him." Zinfri said.

The sorceress sighed and did as she was told. "I cannot find him." the sorceress stated.

"What do you mean can't find him?!" Zinfri screamed.

"He is protected by magic, a magic that I cannot see through. I cannot find him." the sorceress said.

"No! Then all is lost!" Zinfri said.

"Your plan was doomed from the start. You would not have succeeded in any case." the sorceress said.

Zinfri growled before turning and leaving, slamming the door.

'It was the magic if the House of Ra. Heba and his cousins must have found us. But how?' the sorceress asked herself.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 5. Hope you liked it. I didn't want to rush Yami and Yugi into a relationship because I have always seen Yugi as innocent.

R&R.


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

Chapter 6

Yami woke up the next morning and was confused as to where he was until he remembered everything that had happened. Yami sat up and stretched. 'This has been a very strange experience.' Yami thought. He was brought out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. "Come in." Yami called.

A servant girl entered and said, "Lord Hawkins sent me to give these to you, Prince."

"Thank you." Yami said.

The girl left the clothes before leaving herself.

Yami sighed and got out of bed before dressing in the clothes that had been given to him. It was a simple white skirt and a stripped crimson tunic along with a purple cape. Yami looked in the mirror. "Well, not as elaborate as home, but still nice." Yami said.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Yami called for the second time that morning.

The door opened, and Yugi walked in. "Good morning, Prince." Yugi said.

"Good morning, and didn't I tell you to call me Yami?" Yami asked.

Yugi blushed slightly. "Sorry. I forgot." Yugi said.

"It's fine. Did you need something?" Yami asked.

"I was just coming to see if you wanted to join us for breakfast. If not, I can have it brought up here." Yugi said.

"No. I'll go eat with all of you. I don't feel bad thanks to you healing me." Yami replied as they walked out of the room.

"We can stop and see if Malik and Marik want to go get something to eat, too." Yugi said.

Yami nodded, wondering how Marik was doing.

Yugi stopped in front of a door and knocked. There was a loud crash followed by several curses. Yugi sighed. "Malik wasn't up yet." he stated.

The door opened, and Malik stood their looking rather disheveled. "What is it, Yugi?" Malik asked.

"I just wanted to know if you were ready for breakfast. We were going to get Marik and go on down." Yugi said.

"Well, I still need to get ready, so I'll get Marik and then come down." Malik said.

"Are you sure? Marik can be hard to get up." Yami said.

"It's fine. I'm sure." Malik told them.

"All right, Malik. We'll see you downstairs in a little while." Yugi said.

"Okay." Malik said before shutting his door.

"That was certainly odd. Malik's not usually like that." Yugi said.

"It doesn't really matter. Let's go on down to eat. I'm getting rather hungry." Yami said.

"Okay." Yugi replied and led Yami downstairs.

* * *

Malik let out a sigh as he leaned against the door. "That was close." Malik muttered.

"I don't see what you're so worried about." Marik said from the bed.

Malik glared at him. "I don't want my younger cousin finding out that I slept with you last night. I don't know how he would handle that. Besides, aren't you worried about the Prince finding out?" Malik asked.

"Yami? Nope. I could care less what anyone thought about us. I found last night rather enjoyable." Marik said, smirking at Malik.

Malik blushed and went over to his wardrobe. "We're about the same size, so you should be able to fit into some of my clothes." Malik said.

Marik got out of the bed and stalked over to Marik. "There's no need for us to get dressed just yet." Marik said, leaning in close.

Malik slapped Marik on the arm. "Knock it off! I told Yugi we would be going down, and if we don't, he'll come back up here looking for us. Yugi has a habit of coming in here without knocking sometimes." Malik explained.

"Why doesn't he knock?" Marik asked.

"Because we're cousins, and there's never been a chance of walking in on anything before." Malik retorted.

"You'd better tell him not to barge in." Marik said.

Malik glared. "Just get dressed so we can go." Malik said, handing Marik a pair of clothes.

Marik groaned and said, "Fine." He took the clothes to get dressed.

* * *

Yugi and Yami walked into the dining area to find Arthur and Sugoroku were eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Yugi. Prince." Sugoroku said.

"Good morning, Grandpa." Yugi said.

"Good morning, and please just call me Yami." Yami replied as the two sat down.

Servants quickly brought breakfast to the two.

It wasn't long before Marik and Malik also showed up for breakfast.

"We'll all go to the Palace. Arthur has business that he was having to discuss with the Pharaoh anyway. Yugi and Malik will go this time. They have powerful magics that will aid in protecting you should we come across trouble. They can also fight in hand-to-hand combat." Sugoroku explained.

"Is a larger group wise? We'd be perfect targets for raiders." Yami said.

"Malik's magic and my own should be more than enough to protect us, and if we do have to fight using skill we'll be fine there as well." Yugi said.

"I can help in fighting, too. Yami's also got skill in battle." Marik said.

"We'll have some guards as well. There will be more than enough protection for us all." Arthur assured him.

"How long should the journey take?" Yami asked.

"It should take us no more than three days." Sugoroku told him.

* * *

Yugi walked with Yami down the hall. "Something troubles you, Yami." Yugi said.

"What do you mean?" Yami asked.

"You're uneasy about this plan. I could sense it. Why?" Yugi asked.

Yami glanced over at Yugi and could see worry in his innocent amethyst eyes. He sighed and said, "I don't like the idea of so many going. Those raiders are not going to stop until they find Marik and me again. I'm worried that all of you will get caught in the cross-fire."

"You're worrying too much. Malik and I can use our magic if necessary. Most raiders attack groups that seem to have little guard, and they usually attack at night. We'll be relatively safe." Yugi said.

"I just don't like the idea of someone getting hurt because of me." Yami said.

"If anyone is injured, I do have the power to heal them, you know." Yugi said.

"Can you heal anyone?" Yami asked.

"Yes. As long as the injury is not self-inflicted, and I can't heal diseases." Yugi explained.

"Anything else you can't heal?" Yami asked.

Yugi smiled. "It's helpful, although normally I only heal people if they are in a lot of pain or it's life-threatening. Other than that, I'll let them heal on their own." Yugi said.

"I take it you healed Marik and me because of the pain we were in." Yami said.

Yugi nodded. " I knew that you would both rest better that way." Yugi said.

Yami nodded.

"Yugi!" a female voice called.

Yugi turned to have Rebecca launch into his arms.

"Hey, Becca. You slept late." Yugi said.

"Yeah. Leon and I were up late talking." Rebecca replied. It was than that she noticed Yami. "Whose this?" Rebecca asked.

"Rebecca, this Yami, the Prince of Egypt." Yugi replied.

Rebecca's eyes widened before she curtsied.

"Please, don't. I hate the formal stuff. And just call me Yami." Yami told her.

"As you wish." Rebecca replied.

"Becca, where is Leon?" Yugi asked.

"Oh. Gramps wanted to talk to him." I thought I'd come find you." Rebecca replied.

"I guess you know that we're all going to the Palace." Yugi said.

"Yes. I think that's what Gramps wanted to talk to Leon about." Rebecca replied.

"Um, who exactly are you?" Yami asked.

"Oh. This is Lord Hawkins granddaughter, Rebecca." Yugi explained.

"Sorry about that. We don't get too many visitors here." Rebecca told him.

Yami nodded. He wondered if Rebecca and Yugi were a couple. That thought made Yami feel a pang of jealousy. 'By Ra! I think I'm already falling in love with him.' Yami thought.

"Could I ask what exactly you're doing here, Yami?" Rebecca asked.

Yami and Yugi explained hat had happened to Yami and Marik as far as their being kidnapped to Yugi and Malik rescuing them.

"You snuck out, Yugi? You don't usually try to do that." Rebecca said.

"It was a special circumstance." Yugi replied.

Rebecca went off to find Leon.

Yugi shook his head. "Sorry."

"It's fine. She didn't know." Yami replied as they walked into Yugi's room.

"Rebecca's a bundle of energy. It's hard to keep up with her sometimes." Yugi said.

"Are you and she a couple?" Yami asked.

"Me and Rebecca? No! I've lived here for ten years. I basically grew up with Rebecca. She's like a little sister to me. Besides, Rebecca's been betrothed to Leon von Schroeder since birth." Yugi replied.

"Oh. You two just seemed to be very close to her." Yami said.

"Yeah. Rebecca and I are like brother and sister. Trust me. Nothing is going on between us." Yugi said.

"I was just curious." Yami replied. Deep down, he was thankful that there was nothing between Yugi and Rebecca. He was beginning to like Yugi more and more.

"What about you? I'm sure that you have someone who you have a brotherly type of love for who isn't a sibling." Yugi said.

"Yeah. I do. My older brother's fiancé. He's been around awhile, and I already see him as a brother." Yami replied.

"The Crown Prince is marrying a guy?" Yugi asked.

Yami nodded. "My father knows that Atemu doesn't have an interest in women and has never forced the issue. In fact, Father likes Atemu's fiancé a lot." Yami said.

"That's good. It would be bad if the Pharaoh did not approve." Yugi said.

"Trust me. He does, and he knows that the exact same thing will happen with me." Yami said.

"I take it that you have no interest in women, either." Yugi said.

"No, I do not. Does that bother you?" Yami asked, hoping that Yugi wouldn't be bothered by the fact that he preferred guys.

"No, it doesn't bother me. In my opinion, love is a rare thing, When you find it, you should hold on to it, regardless of the person's gender." Yugi said.

"Do you have anyone that you like?" Yami asked.

"I've never had a relationship with anyone if that's what you mean. I don't want to rush into things with another person. I've always believed in taking things slow with people. Rushing things doesn't help the relationship in most case. At least that's how I feel." Yugi said.

"You have a unique view on love." Yami said.

Yugi smiled. "Malik says that I'm crazy, but I can't help how I feel, and I'm not going to change that view point under any circumstances." Yugi said.

Yami wasn't sure how to take this. He thought that he might have a chance with Yugi, but he realized that he'd have to take things slow. He just wasn't sure if he could.

"Yami, I hope I haven't offended you with anything that I have said." Yugi told him.

"You haven't. I was just thinking about what you said, Little One." Yami replied.

Yugi blushed at the nickname.

Yami felt warm inside and knew that he could take a relationship with Yugi slow.

There was a knock on the door.

Yugi stood up and went to the door, opening it. He was surprised to find that his grandfather was at the door. "Grandpa, is something wrong?" Yugi asked.

"Yugi, do you know where your cousin is?" Sugoroku asked.

"No, Grandpa. I haven't seen Malik since breakfast." Yugi replied.

"Could you please find him?" Sugoroku asked.

"Sure thing." Yugi replied.

Sugoroku nodded and walked off.

Yami walked up beside Yugi and said, "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"I might. There's one place that Malik goes when he's trying to avoid every person in the palace. I've honored that he wanted this place to be a secret and never told anyone about it, which is why I usually end up going to find him." Yugi explained.

"Then you'd better go find him." Yami said.

"You can come with me. Malik won't care if you know." Yugi replied.

Yami nodded and followed Yugi out of the room.

* * *

Malik and Marik were in a blocked in area of the gardens.

"Are you sure that no one will find us here?" Marik asked.

"The only person who knows about this place is Yugi, so if anyone wants us, they'll get him to find me." Malik replied.

"Aren't you worried that your little cousin will catch us?" Marik asked.

Malik rolled his eyes. "Yugi probably won't have any reason to look for us for a while. Besides, he's not totally innocent." Malik said.

"Good. Then I think that I will quite enjoy this." Marik said.

Before Malik could react, Marik had shoved Malik against the wall and was kissed him roughly. Malik responded instantly, wrapping his arms around Marik's neck and opening his mouth to let Marik's tongue enter his mouth. Marik took the invitation happily and started to roam around Malik's mouth.

A sharp whistle sounded, and Marik and Malik jumped apart, both turning to find a smirking Yami and a smiling Yugi looking at them.

Yami raised an eyebrow. "I take it that you and Malik are getting along just fine, Marik." Yami said, his smirk growing.

Marik smirked back. "Now whatever gave you that idea, Yami?" Marik asked innocently.

Yami rolled his eyes at Marik's miserable attempt to seem innocent.

Yugi looked at his older cousin. "Malik, care to explain?" Yugi asked.

"Well, you see, I um, I well-" Malik wasn't sure how to explain it.

Marik sighed. "He spent the night with me last night and was afraid of how you all would react." Marik said.

"Marik!" Malik exclaimed, mortified.

Yami glanced at Marik. "Already? Not even Atemu, Seth, and Bakura acted that fast." Yami said.

"Marik shrugged. "They would have had it not been for those other circumstances." Marik said.

"True." Marik agreed.

"Malik, you should know us better than that. I'm happy for you.' Yugi said.

Malik blinked. "You are." Malik said.

Yugi nodded. "All I want is for you to be happy, and I know Marik will treat you right. My opinion shouldn't really matter, and neither should Grandpa's." Yugi said,

"Thanks, Yugi. That means a lot." Malik said.

"Speaking of whom, Grandpa asked me to find you. He wants to talk to you." Yugi said.

"About what?" Malik asked.

"I don't know. He just asked me to find you." Yugi replied.

Malik sighed. "Well, I had better go and see what he wanted before he starts yelling bloody murder and decides to kill me." Malik said.

Yugi and Malik walked ahead of Yami and Marik.

"I see that you finally found someone, Marik." Yami said.

"Yeah. He's kind of rough around the edges." Marik said.

"Just the way you like them." Yami said.

Marik smirked. "Right. I see that you have a thing for the little guy over there." Marik said, nodding toward Yugi.

Yami looked at Yugi. "Yeah, I do. There's just something about him that draws me to him. He just seems to be so kind and compassionate. It's something I haven't seen in any one else. The innocence that seems to surround him is also attractive." Yami said.

"If you like him like that, fine. Weird how much Yugi looks like Heba. The only real difference in them is their skin tone." Marik said.

"I noticed that, too. When they rescued us, I thought that it was Heba at first. I know that I have heard the names Yugi's name somewhere before. Malik's, too. I just wish I could remember where it was." Yami said.

* * *

Malik and Yugi found Sugoroku talking to Arthur In the library.

"Grandpa, Yugi said that you anted to see me." Malik said.

"Actually, I want to talk to both of you. While we are on this journey, I want you two to stay close to the Prince and Captain Marik. Your magics will be able to do more to protect them than the guards. I would prefer it if you were protecting them." Sugoroku said.

"Of course we will, Grandpa." Malik said.

"We were planning to do that anyway." Yugi added.

"Good. I'm glad that you two are following your duties." Sugoroku said.

Yugi and Malik nodded.

Sugoroku glanced at Arthur with a mischievous look in his eyes as he said, "How are you two getting along with the Prince and the captain?"

"We all get along." Malik replied.

"Do not be so modest. I know that you like Marik, Malik." Sugoroku said.

Malik blushed. "Well, I-um" Malik stammered.

Sugoroku smiled. "Calm yourself, my boy. I am glad that you found someone. I take it that you will not be returning with us when we come back." Sugoroku said.

"If you don't force me." Malik replied.

"Of course not. Now go and get ready. We should be ready to leave soon." Sugoroku said.

Yugi and Malik nodded before they left the room.

"Are you truly going to allow Malik to remain at the palace with Marik?" Arthur asked.

"Yes. Malik's happiness means a great deal to me, and if being with Marik is what makes him happy, then so be it." Sugoroku said.

"And Yugi?" Arthur asked.

"That will be up to him as well. I have kept them locked up here for ten years. It is time to stop trying to protect them and let them live their own lives." Sugoroku said. He looked over at Arthur. "You will have to do the same with Rebecca soon, my friend." Sugoroku said.

"Yes, I know." Arthur replied.

* * *

"That was unexpected." Malik said.

"AT least you don't have to worry about it now." Yugi said.

"True. I just hope that our trip back to the palace will be uneventful." Malik said.

"Father will protect us, and we will use our magic to protect ourselves if it becomes necessary." Yugi replied.

Malik nodded as they met back up with Yami and Marik.

"What did he want?" Marik asked.

"Not much. Just a few details about the trip to the palace." Malik replied.

"Good. I'll be glad to get back home." Marik said.

"So will I. Father has to be going out of his mind by now." Yami said.

* * *

Aknankanon paced back and forth in his room.

Atemu sat in a chair, watching his father worriedly.

"It has been almost two days since Yami was kidnapped. How could the guards not have found him? They've searched all over Egypt!" Aknankanon shouted.

"Father, please calm down. You know Yami. He will be fine." Atemu said.

"How do you know? There's no telling what they could have done to him by now." Aknankanon said.

"Father, do you really think that Yami would let them to something, considering his personality?" Atemu asked.

Aknankanon sighed. "No, but it doesn't stop me from worrying. I just don't want anything bad to happen to him." Aknankanon said.

"I know, Father." Atemu said.

* * *

Zinfri paced back and forth angrily. "How could they not have found the Prince? He could not have gotten that far!" Zinfri shouted.

"There is only so much that can be done. After all, we do not know who helped them escape." the sorceress said.

Zinfri glared at her. "Why haven't you found them? Your magic should be able to track him down!" Zinfri said.

"There is only so much that I can do. You should forget about the Prince." the sorceress said.

"I will not forget. I could get a lot of money for him, but I can't get it if I do not recapture him." Zinfri said.

"The Pharaoh and both Princes are loved greatly by the people. If the Prince were to reach any of the people, then they would help him. I can assure you that they will not hand over the Prince to you." the sorceress said.

"Then I'll kill anyone who gets in my way. I will not lose such a treasure mine." Zinfri said.

'His greed shall be his undoing.' the sorceress thought, knowing hat he would fail.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 6. Hope you liked it. The trip to the palace is next.

R&R.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The following afternoon, the group left from the Hawkins house and began their journey to the palace.

Sugoroku, Arthur, Rebecca, and Leon traveled in a carriage while everyone else traveled by riding horses.

Yami and Marik had declined the invitation to ride in the carriage, preferring to travel by horseback.

True to their word, Yugi and Malik stayed close by Yami and Marik, riding beside their two charges.

Guards walked ahead of the group and behind the group, ensuring that the group remained safe from anyone that would bring harm to any of them.

"I think that the Pharaoh will be surprised when he sees you, Yami." Marik said.

Yami sighed. "I know. Father is also going to flip out and have me under constant guard for who knows how long." Yami said.

"Well, he has reason to be concerned. Especially once he hears everything that happened." Marik said.

"Can you truly blame him, though, Yami? He's been wondering where you are for several days. He's going to be worried." Yugi said.

"He's right." Malik agreed.

"He always worries, but I think I know why now. He was always worried that something like this would happen." Yami said.

Yugi glanced around and tensed.

Malik noticed this and said, "Yugi, are you okay?"

"Malik, do you feel that?" Yugi asked.

"Feel what?" Malik asked.

"Concentrate." Yugi urged.

Malik did as he was told and sensed what it was that Yugi had.

"What's wrong?" Yami asked.

"Trouble. There's a group of people coming this way. They possess magic. Could be trouble." Malik said.

"Can your magic do anything against them?" Marik asked.

"Yes. We'll have to be careful, though. We don't know what kind of magic they have." Yugi said.

"Are you going to go after them?" Yami asked.

"No. We'll let them come to us. They'll think they have the element of surprise if they mean us harm, although we will be the ones with the true element of surprise." Yugi said.

Yami and Marik were surprised by this thinking, but also saw the truth in his words.

'Wow. Yugi's a lot better at tactical decision than I thought.' Yami thought.

The group continued on for several hours, but Yugi and Malik still sensed the approaching group.

As night fell, the group stopped to set up camp for the night.

Yugi and Malik approached their grandfather with Yami and Marik right behind them.

"Grandpa, I think that we might be in a little bit of trouble." Yugi said.

"You both sensed it as well. I have sensed it, too. I fear that we might be attacked. Stay alert." Sugoroku said.

Both nodded as they went to help set up.

"How will you protect al these people?" Yami asked, noticing that their large group could have harm come to them.

"I can create shields that can protect others." Yugi replied.

"Sounds like a defensive maneuver." Marik said.

"It is. Many of my powers are used for defensive purposes. Malik usually takes the offensive when needed." Yugi replied.

"I don't mind. I rather like having eh offensive magic. It let's me teach the people who dare attack us that there is no way that they're going to do something like that without facing some serious consequences." Malik replied.

"Try not to go overboard. Last time you went overboard, you nearly killed me." Yugi said.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I won't go overboard this time." Malik said.

"Why do I get the feeling that is an empty promise?" Yami asked.

"Because it is. Malik always goes overboard when he fights with magic. For that matter, he goes overboard in hand-to-hand combat, too." Yugi said.

"What's so wrong with that? It usually means that you'll win." Marik said.

"Or that you'll make a mistake that could be costly." Yami pointed out.

"Which is usually what Malik's tend to be." Yugi said.

"That's why I have you. You always make up for the mistakes that I make." Malik said.

Yugi rolled his eyes at his older cousin.

A thought crossed Yami's mind. "I thought that your grandfather did not allow you to leave the house for ten years until you snuck out when you came to save us." Yami said.

"That's right." Yugi said.

"Then how have you fought before?" Yami asked.

"There have been several attacks and attempts made against Lord Hawkins. Yugi and I usually used our magic to protect him and fight off whoever it was that decided to attack us." Malik explained.

It was then that a magical ball of energy was thrown at them, but Yugi held up his hand quickly and the ball of energy was sent backwards into the person it had hit, killing them.

Every guard was on the defensive then.

Rebecca, afraid, grabbed hold of Leon and held onto him in her fear.

Leon tightened his arms around Rebecca, determined to protect at all costs from whoever was attacking them.

Sugoroku pulled Arthur behind him as guards surrounded the two.

"Get back. Let the guards protect you." Yugi said.

"We can't leave you two to fight alone." Yami protested.

"Go! We have the magic here. We can't risk your lives." Malik siad forcefully.

Realizing that the two were right, Yami and Marik backed up and let themselves be surrounded by the guards.

It was then that a dozen raiders jumped out.

"Well, it looks like I finally you, Prince." Zinfri said as he stepped into the light of the fire.

"Zinfri!" Yami exclaimed.

"I see you remember me. I was afraid that you might have forgotten me." Zinfri said, a smirk on his face.

"Must be the kidnapper." Malik said.

Zinfri's eyes fell onto Yugi and Malik. "You must be the ones that helped them escape." Zinfri said.

"And if we did?" Malik asked, not showing any fear.

"Then you'll pay for that." Zinfri said. He formed a ball of magic in his hand and threw it at Yugi and Malik.

Malik threw a golden ball of magic that collided with Zinfri's, and the two attacks canceled out.

"What?!" Zinfri exclaimed.

"You should know who your enemy is before you attack. It can be costly otherwise." Malik said. He threw out his arm and sent Zinfri and two other raiders flying backwards.

It was then that the rest of the raiders attacked.

Malik drew out his sword and stopped another sword. He kneed the raider in the stomach before punching him in the face.

Yugi held up his hand as a sword came down at him, and the blade hit an invisible shield.

"What the-?!" the raider exclaimed.

Yugi's eyes glowed gold before he used his magic to throw the raiders back.

The guards had managed to take down several of the raiders.

One came at Marik, who caught the guard by the wrist and twisted his wrist painfully, causing the raider to cry out and drop his sword. Marik kicked the raider in the stomach before grabbing the sword and ramming the blade through the raider's stomach, sending the raider down.

Malik formed a ball of magic in his hand and sent the attack and raider, who was killed instantly by the attack.

Zinfri snuck up behind Yami grabbed him by both arms, pinning his arms behind him. "You're coming with me. I'm not letting that money escape, and you're my ticket to getting all of it. Your father will pay even more now." Zinfri said with a sneer.

Yami growled. "You're not suing me to get to my father!" Yami shouted. He rammed his head back into Zinfri's face, forcing Zinfri to let go of Yami to cover his face with his hands. Yami kicked Zinfri in the stomach, causing him to stumble back.

Zinfri looked up, glaring at Yami. "You'll pay for that, fool!" Zinfri said.

"Yami! Duck!" Yugi ordered.

Yami ducked to the ground as a blast of golden magic went above his head and hit Zinfri in the chest, throwing him back to the ground.

Grunting in pain, Zinfri looked up at Yugi, glaring. He knew that he couldn't fight now. He had to get out of there before he was killed.

Yami, knowing the danger he was in, got up and backed away.

Half of the raiders had been killed, and the other half was injured. It was then that the remaining raiders escaped.

Arthur and Sugoroku assessed the damage to the group while Yugi and Malik made sure that they were safe.

"They're gone. I doubt that they'll be back. I think all of them were killed." Malik said.

"I think we'd better keep moving through the night. They could get help and come back here. Taking a chance like that would be foolish." Yugi said.

"He makes a good point. If we keep moving, there's less of a chance that we'll be attacked again." Marik agreed.

"Let's go. We just can't take a risk like that." Arthur agreed.

The group had everything together and were on their way in less than thirty minutes.

"Yugi, how did that Zinfri guy survive that attack?" Malik asked.

"I don't know. He would have to have magical protection of some kind to protect him from a blast like that." Yugi said.

"You mean, that attack was meant to kill him?" Yami asked.

Yugi nodded. "That was the point of the attack. It was suppose to kill him, but it didn't, and I don't know how." Yugi replied.

* * *

Heba's eyes snapped open and he sat up, breathing heavily. "What was that?" Heba asked.

Atemu, having been woken up, by Heba's sudden movements, heard what he said, Atemu sat up and said, "Heba, what's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just got a really weird feeling." Heba said.

"Like what?" Atemu asked.

"I don't know. I haven't felt like this in years. Nothing's wrong. It's more like, something is coming. Something non-threatening." Heba said.

"Do you think it cold be Yami?" Atemu asked.

"I don't know. I really wish I did." Heba replied.

* * *

Zinfri picked up a plate the threw it against the all. "How is it possible?! How could that little twerp have done that to me?!" Zinfri shouted, angry.

The sorceress walked out. "What are you angry about now? You found the Prince." the sorceress said.

"There was a group with him. One of the two who helped rescue him were there, too. One of them hit with some sort of magic. The magic you gave me didn't shield me from the attack!" Zinfri shouted at her.

This surprised the sorceress. "That is impossible. No magic has the ability to breach my protective powers." the sorceress said.

"Well, it did! It was hard for me to breathe, too. He's strong for a little twerp. He was even smaller than that stupid Prince. How could someone so small possess so much power?!" Zinfri demanded.

"I do not know. I did not see the battle. This person must possess magics that I have never seen before." the sorceress said.

"You need to find a way to protect us from it, or we cold all be killed, and that would leave you to deal with those three members of the House of Ra on your own!" Zinfri yelled before storming out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

The sorceress grew concerned. 'Only Heba, Jou, and Ryou survived that attack. No other member of the House of Ra survived other than the old man, and he does not have the power to stop me. The ones attacking Zinfri must be of a magic of another country. No other member of the House of Ra lives. They cannot live now.' the sorceress thought. But, deep down, she feared that more members of the House of Ra were alive, which would make it harder for her to carry out her plan.

* * *

The group had traveled the rest of the journey without incident although they were on guard at all times.

The palace came into the view.

"There it is!" Yami said.

"Thank Ra! I never thought I'd be so happy to see the palace." Marik agreed.

Yugi and Malik hid their smiles, glad that they were able to get Yami and Marik back to their home safely.

The group headed for the palace.

"Yami, the guards at the palace won't think that we had anything to do with your kidnapping, will they?" Malik asked, a little concerned.

"They might, but I won't let them do anything. You both saved me, and I'll make that clear to the guards." Yami replied.

"And if they try anything, I'll just kill them. I am the captain of the guards, so I do have command over them." Marik added, determined not to let anything happen to Malik.

Yami hid a smirk at Marik's protectiveness. 'This will be interesting.' Yami thought. He wondered how his father would react to Marik's new lover.

The group approached the palace gates, only to be stopped by the Royal guard.

"What business have you here?" the head guard asked.

Yami took the initiative and ride forward.

The guards gasped.

"Prince Yami?" one said.

"Open the gates now. They are with me." Yami said.

"Yes, Your Highness." the guard replied.

Yami suppressed a growl. He hated the usage if his title from anyone.

"That was a lot easier than expected." Marik said.

Yugi put a hand to the side of his head. He didn't know why, but he suddenly had a tremendous headache.

"Yugi, you okay?" Malik asked, noticing his younger cousin's actions.

"Yeah. I just have a headache or some reason." Yugi replied.

"You going to be okay?" Malik asked.

"Yeah. I should be." Yugi replied as the group rode through the palace gates inside. Unfortunately, he found his headache growing stronger.

* * *

Aknankanon sat at his throne with Atemu, Bakura, Seth, and the rest of the council.

"Pharaoh, we must prepare to give the ransom. It is tonight that it is needed to be given." Isis said.

"Yes. Mahado, Karim. I am trusting you two with this." Aknankanon said.

"Yes, Pharaoh." both replied.

'Father hates doing this, but there is no other way.' Atemu thought.

Heba, Jou, and Ryou glanced at each other nervously. They were concerned that the raiders either had already killed Yami or would not return him once they got the ransom.

'Father, please protect Yami. Don't allow them to kill him.' Heba thought. He wasn't sure that Atemu or Aknankanon could handle a blow like that.

The doors to the throne room burst open, causing everyone to jump.

Aknankanon looked and saw that Hondo had burst into the room. "Hondo, what is the meaning of this?!" Aknankanon demanded.

"Forgive me for the interruption, my Pharaoh, but Prince Yami has returned." Hondo said.

"What?!" Aknankanon exclaimed.

"Some one rescued him." Hondo explained.

Aknankanon, along with the rest of the court, forgot about decorum as they ran from the throne room.

Jou and Ryou started to follow.

Heba suddenly gripped the arm of the throne to keep himself standing. He put a hand to his head at the excruciating headache that he just developed.

"Heba, are you all right?" Ryou asked, putting a hand on Heba's shoulder.

"I think so. My head's killing me, though." Heba said.

"Why?" Jou asked.

"Not sure. I do know that we need to go." Heba said.

"Maybe you should lay down." Ryou said.

"No. I want to see Yami and make sure that he is okay." Heba replied.

With that, the three rushed from the throne room.

* * *

Yami dismounted from his horse and looked around. He was glad to be back home after everything that he had been through.

"Nice to finally be back home." Marik stated.

Yami nodded. He turned to start toward the palace. Yami led Yugi, Malik, Marik, Sugoroku, Arthur, Rebecca, and Leon into the palace. They entered the front hallway.

"Yami!" a voice yelled.

Yami jumped at his father's, wondering why he was yelling. The next thing Yami knew, he was in a bone-crushing hug. "F-father." Yami stammered, unable to say anything else from the force of the hug.

The rest of the group with Yami had backed up to give father and son a little privacy.

"Yami, are you all right? How did you escape?" Aknankanon asked as he released his son.

Before Yami could answer, he was caught in another hug, this time by Atemu. "I don't know how you escaped, but I'm sure glad that you did." Atemu said as he released Yami.

"I actually didn't escape. Marik and I were rescued." Yami explained.

"Rescued? By who?" Aknankanon asked.

"By these two." Marik replied, pushing Yugi and Malik forward a little.

"You two have my deepest gratitude for rescuing my son." Aknankanon told them.

"We were just glad to help, Pharaoh." Yugi replied.

"Still need help to get out of your scrapes, huh, Yami?" Bakura asked.

"Shut up, Bakura." Yami retorted.

Aknankanon looked up and was surprised to see a familiar face that he thought he would never see again. "Sugoroku, is that you?" Aknankanon asked, shocked.

Sugoroku looked up to see an old friend. He smiled an said, "Aknankanon, it is good to see you in good health, my friend."

"You two know each other?" Yami asked.

"Indeed, we do. Aknankanon and I have been friends since childhood." Sugoroku replied.

"Yes. In fact, it was he who introduced me to your mother." Aknankanon replied.

"You never mentioned that before." Yugi said.

"I never thought it necessary." Sugoroku replied.

"I can see that you both were in good hands." Aknankanon said.

'Maybe it won't be hard for me and Malik to be together after all.' Marik thought.

Heba, Jou, and Ryou showed up, but did not see their family members since the priests were standing in front of them, blocking their family from view. The three hung back, not wanting to interrupt the reunion between Aknankanon, Atemu, and Yami.

Heba's headache had eased off, although it still bothered him. 'What is going on? Why does my head hurt like this? I haven't felt like this since I was little.' Heba thought.

Yami glanced at Atemu, Bakura, and Seth and said, "Where are your fiancés at?"

Atemu glanced back and saw where they were. "Will you three come up here?" Atemu said.

The priests moved to the side, and Heba, Jou, and Ryou looked up.

They froze.

Yugi and Malik looked up.

They also froze.

The silence that followed was deafening and confusing to the Royal court.

The next words spoken shocked everyone.

"Yugi." Heba said in a shaky voice, eyes wife.

Yugi's eyes were also wide. "Heba." Yugi said in a breathy voice.

* * *

That's all for Chapter 7. Sorry about teh cliffhanger, but I thought that it would be a good place to stop.

R&R.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Yami and Marik were startled when Yugi said Heba's name and Heba said Yugi's name. As far as they knew, no one knew who they were because they hadn't bothered to introduce them yet.

No member of the Royal court was prepared for what happened next.

"Yugi!" Heba exclaimed before darting forward and grabbing his brother in a tight hug.

"Heba, I can't believe! I thought you were dead!" Yugi said.

"Me? I thought you were. I thought for sure you had been killed in that fire!" Yugi replied.

Ryou ran forward and grabbed Malik in a tight hug. "Malik, I thought I'd never see you again!" Ryou said.

"Ryou, I'm glad to see you again. I'm glad you're safe." Malik said.

Jou suddenly grabbed Yugi in a hug and said, "It's good to see you again, little buddy. I thought for sure that you were dead." Jou said.

"What do you think we thought? We were really sure that you were all dead." Yugi said.

Atemu, Bakura, and Seth were beginning to feel a little jealous that their fiancés were hugging these strangers as if they had known them for years.

Yami and Marik felt equally jealous since Marik was in a new relationship with Malik, and Yami had started to fall in love with Yugi.

Arthur realized who the three were and was rather happy. 'Yugi and Malik weren't the only ones to survive after all.' Arthur thought.

Rebecca and Leon were just confused and didn't say anything.

Sugoroku had been speechless at the sight of his grandson and two great-nephews.

Heba finally looked past Yugi and saw his grandfather. "Grandpa!" Heba exclaimed before hugging the old man.

"Heba, I am glad to see you, my boy. I never thought that this was possible." Sugoroku said.

"But how Grandpa? I thought you were killed." Heba said.

"I wasn't there that day. I had been visiting Arthur." Sugoroku replied.

Aknankanon was confused and was tired of being out of the loop. "Sugoroku, it's obvious that you know Heba, Jou, and Ryou. Now, could one of you tell us how?" Aknankanon asked.

Heba looked over at Yami. "Yami, are you telling me you didn't know who Yugi was when he found you?" Heba asked.

"No. Should I have?" Yami asked.

Yugi glanced over Heba. "You did tell them about us, right?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, brother, I did, but it was a year ago, so they might not remember." Heba replied.

At the word brother, it clicked in Atemu's mind. "Heba, this is your twin brother Yugi. The one who supposedly died in that fire." Atemu said.

Heba and Yugi nodded, smiling.

Bakura caught on. "Then this is your older brother, Malik, isn't it, Ryou?" Bakura asked.

Malik and Ryou both nodded, smiling as well.

"Didn't you tell us that they died that day?" Seth asked.

"Guess we were wrong." Jou said.

"Okay. Obviously there are a lot of things that need to be explained, and I think we should do it somewhere a lot less public." Mahado said, noticing some of the servants watching them.

The servants instantly got back to work, realizing that Mahado was referring to them.

"It would be best if the explanations waited a little while. I know you have all had a long trip and would like the chance to rest." Aknankanon said.

Knowing him to be right, the group started to disperse.

* * *

Heba, Yugi, Ryou, Malik, and Jou sat in Heba's room.

"This is amazing. We thought for sure that you two had been killed. That's the impression we went under for the past ten years." Jou said.

"We thought the same thing, knucklehead." Malik replied.

"Oh, knock it off, lame brain." Jou retorted.

Yugi glanced at Heba. "Can I assume that when Yami asked about the Prince's and priests' fiancés, they were referring to you three?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah. That's us." Heba replied.

"Who's marrying who?" Malik asked.

"Well, I'm marrying Seth. He's one of the high priests and actually Atemu and Yami's older cousin." Jou said.

"I'm getting married to Bakura. He's a priest, too." Ryou said.

"Hold on. Bakura, as in Thief King Bakura?" Malik asked.

"You've heard of him?" Ryou asked.

"Heard of him?! He attacked Arthur's home once! We fought him!" Malik said.

"What?!" Heba, Jou, and Ryou exclaimed.

"Yeah. He and his raiders almost killed Arthur and Grandpa. That was five years ago." Malik said. He looked at Ryou. "How on earth did you manage that one?" Malik demanded.

Ryou flushed. "Well, um, you see-" Ryou stumbled.

Yugi looked at Malik. "Let up on him, Malik. I know that you don't exactly like him because of what happened, but it was five years ago. I think that you could let go of some of the anger go. From what I've heard, Bakura has changed his life around." Yugi said.

"He has. He likes to torment people along the lines that Heba, Jou, and you used to do when we were kids." Ryou said.

Jou chuckled. "Between Seth, Bakura, Heba, and Me, I think the Pharaoh keeps a headache just because of the pranks we have pulled." Jou said.

Yugi groaned. "Which means that Malik will join in on them." He looked over at his twin and said, "Then I can assume that you are the one marrying the Crown Prince."

Heba grinned and nodded. "Yeah. I am, but you might want to just call him Atemu. He hates it when you call him by his title." Heba siad.

"He sounds like Yami. When we got them back to Arthur's house, he asked me to call him by his name." Yugi said.

"Speaking of which, how did that come about?" Jou asked.

Yugi smiled. "Since I'm sure the Pharaoh and the rest of the court will want to know the exact same ting, I think we'll jut explain it then. I really don't want to have to tell the same story a hundred different in one day." Yugi said.

"Could all of you tell us how you ended up lying here in the palace?" Malik asked.

"Well, in short, after all that happened that day at home ten years ago, the three of us managed to escape with the help of my father, Ryou's, and Heba's mother. They let us escape. We thought everyone had died, so we ended up living on the streets." Jou said.

"We were captured by soldiers and brought to the palace to be used as slaves. It was then that Atemu picked me as his personal slave, Ryou was Bakura's, and Jou was Seth's. We thought that the Pharaoh had ordered the attack on our family, so we kept quiet. There was a guard labeled traitor who tried to kill Atemu, and I ended up saving him. My "miraculous recovery" as Isis put it, made them suspicious. I save the Pharaoh from an angry raider later." Heba said.

"Isis saw the tattoo on his back, and we were forced to tell them truth about who we were. That guard, Mentrab, was out to get Heba as well, and we kept the truth a secret as a way of surprising him if he attacked. Anzu, who was a lady trying to get Atemu to marry him, hated Heba because she thought he was getting in her way of seducing Atemu, betrayed the Pharaoh by helping Mentrab get in the palace." Ryou said.

"When Mentrab did, his goal was to kill the Pharaoh, Atemu, Yami, and the entire court. He also revealed Anzu to be the traitor that she was. We fought them, defeated them, stripped them of their magic, and they were executed. Anzu also was banished for her acts of treason." Jou said.

"I take it Anzu did a lot more than just that." Yugi said.

"Yeah. She hit Heba twice and nearly had him whipped for no reason. The Pharaoh and Atemu were furious and she was forced to leave the palace. That was when she betrayed them to Mentrab. She's gone now, and she'll be killed if she ever comes back here." Ryou said.

"Sounds like you got the bad end of the deal, brother." Yugi said.

"I did. Thankfully, it all worked out. I'm just glad you saved Yami and got him back here safely. Marik, too." Heba said.

Yugi glanced at Malik. "I should tell you that you're not the only ones in a relationship." Yugi said.

"Yugi!" Malik exclaimed, turning red.

"Who are you with?" Jou asked.

Malik glared. "Like I'm going to tell you, loudmouth." Malik said.

"Hey! We told you!" Jou retorted.

"Malik, if you don't tell them, I will." Yugi said.

Malik looked at him a horrified look on his face. "You wouldn't?" Malik said.

"What better way to get you back for all the torment you out me through for the past ten years?" Yugi asked.

Malik groaned. "Fine. If you must know, it's Marik." Malik said.

"Marik?! As in the captain of the guards Marik?" Ryou asked.

Malik nodded.

"I never thought that Marik would find anyone like you." Jou said.

Malik glared. "And just what does that mean?" Malik said.

"You know what it means! You are arrogant, selfish, and you have to have everything your own way!" Jou said.

"Like you're any different! I don't see how anyone could stand to be around you that much!" Malik retorted.

Heba, Yugi, and Ryou looked at each other and sighed.

"It looks like they haven't changed." Heba said.

"Did you expect them to?" Yugi asked.

"No. They're greatest thrill in life is insulting each other." Heba replied.

"Well, looks like everyone will have to get used to the insults they continuously throw at each other." Ryou said.

* * *

Yami lay on his back on his bed. "I am so glad to be home." Yami said.

"I guess it's a lot better than being with raiders, huh?" Atemu asked from the place he was sitting on the bed.

Yami looked at him. "Trust me. I would rather face Heba in hand-to-hand combat and him using his magic than go thought that again. It might have been less painful." Yami said.

"What do you mean?" Atemu asked.

"I mean that Marik and I got the crap beat out of us." Yami replied.

Atemu frowned. "But neither of you look like anyone laid a hand on you." Atemu protested.

"That would be thanks to Yugi." Yami replied.

"Yugi? Heba's brother? What did he do?" Atemu asked.

"Apparently, Yugi has the ability to heal injured as long as they are not self-inflicted. After Yugi and Malik got us back to the Hawkins house, Yugi used his healing ability on both of us. It was rather effective. I went from excruciating pain to completely fine in a split second." Yami replied.

"That's helpful." Atemu said.

"Yeah. Marik and I were both grateful to Yugi." Yami said.

The door was suddenly thrown open and Bakura and Seth walked in.

Yami glared and said, "Do you not know how to knock?"

"No. Never have and never will learn." Bakura said, smirking.

"Sounds like you and Marik had a bit of fun." Seth said.

Yami rolled his eyes. "If you call being hit in the back of the head, knocked out, wake up in a cave, and have the crap beaten out of you for a straight day, we had a whole of fun." Yami said sarcastically.

"What's Marik so happy about, anyway? He wasn't this happy before you two were kidnapped." Bakura said.

"Oh, he's happy because he's in a relationship with Malik now." Yami said, resting his cheek in his hand.

"What?!" came three startled voices.

Yami looked up. "Yeah. They both had a thing for each other the second they saw each other. They actually spent the night together our only night there." Yami said.

Bakura smirked. "Oh, this will be something I can tease him about." Bakura said.

"That was fast. None of us acted that fast." Seth said.

"And if the slave-master thing hadn't applied at that time?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We'd of all been like Marik." Atemu replied.

"I thought so." Yami said.

"How did you not know who they were?" Bakura asked.

"I had just had the crap beaten out of me and I was tired. Not to mention it has been a year since Heba told us all that. I didn't put it together." Yami said.

There was a knock on the door.

Atemu got off the bed and answered it, surprised to find his father outside.

"Atemu, what are you doing in here?" Aknankanon asked.

"Pestering me." Yami replied.

"I figured Heba, Jou, and Ryou would like to see Yugi and Malik alone, so they're in my room." Atemu said.

"Could you get them? I think that we'd like that explanation now." Aknankanon said.

"Sure." Atemu replied, and Aknankanon left.

"Well, let's go get them and then go to the Meeting room." Atemu said.

All four left the room.

Malik and Jou were still arguing when Atemu, Yami, Seth, and Bakura walked into the room.

"What is going on?" Atemu asked.

"Oh, Malik and Jou are having one of their constants to see who can throw the most insults at each other." Heba replied.

"Do they do this often?" Seth asked.

"Oh, just once, twice, maybe five times a day." Ryou said.

"I didn't argue that much with him." Seth said. He earned looks from Atemu, Yami, Heba, Ryou, and Bakura. "Okay, so I don't argue with him that much anymore." Seth corrected himself.

Heba snapped his fingers, and Jou and Malik froze in place. "What going on?" Heba asked.

"Father wants that explanation now." Atemu said.

"Sure." Yugi replied.

They started to leave.

"Um, Heba?" Yugi said.

"What?" Heba asked, turning to his twin.

Yugi pointed at Jou and Malik.

"Oh, sorry." Heba said, grinning sheepishly as he snapped his fingers again and unfroze Jou and Malik.

"Heba, you forget." Malik said.

Heba shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time." Heba said.

"Let's go before Father has a fit." Atemu said.

The group left the room and started down the hallway.

Yugi and Heba both stopped, sending something. Both stopped and looked around before looking at each other, thinking the same thing.

"Will you two come on?" Bakura said, sounding irritated.

"Oh, shut up, Bakura!" Heba retorted as the two followed.

"Be on guard." Yugi mouthed to his brother.

Heba nodded in agreement.

The group continued on their way and made it to the Meeting Room where Aknankanon, Shada, Karim, Isis, Mahado, Marik, and Sugoroku were waiting on them.

Everyone sat down.

"Yami, Marik. Tell us how you got captured." Aknankanon said.

"Neither of us could sleep that night, and we both wound up in the gardens talking. When we were about to go back into the palace, we were both struck from behind and knocked out." Yami said.

"When we woke up, we were both in a cave. Let's just say we had the crap beat out of us." Marik said.

Everyone could clearly see the rage building in Aknankanon's eyes, but he remained calm.

"How did you two manage to find them?" Isis asked Yugi and Malik.

"Well, Heba explained about the magics he and I possess, right?" Yugi asked.

"Yes." Karim said.

"You know our magics are different in some ways. One of the magics I have the Heba doesn't is the power of premonition." Yugi said.

"Like Isis's Millennium Necklace?" Mahado asked.

"Not exactly. You're visions do not always happen the way you see them, right, Isis?" Heba asked.

"No. Sometime, my visions are wring." Isis replied.

"My premonitions are visions of what may come. Usually, my premonitions are telling me something that I need to prevent or something that needs to be helped. IN this case, I had a vision of them being in danger, so I knew they needed to be saved.." Yugi said.

"He told me about them and we snuck out that night to save them. Thanks to his premonition, Yugi knew exactly where to go. We were able to get in and rescue them without any of the raiders knowing. We were chased once we got them out, but we were able to evade them easily." Malik added.

"They took us back to Lord Hawkins' house, and his healers looked us over. We were mostly fine." Yami said.

"Neither of you look as if anything happened to you, though." Shada pointed out.

"Thank Yugi for that. He can heal people, which ended being a blessing for us." Marik said.

"You can heal injuries?" Isis asked.

"Yes. As long as they are not self-inflicted, and I cannot heal diseases." Yugi answered.

"Did you have any trouble coming back here?" Aknankanon asked.

"We were attacked by the same raiders once, but we were able to stop them without any injury." Yugi said.

"It sounds like you've had quite a few days." Seth said.

"You have no idea." Yami replied.

Heba and Yugi both felt the same presence that they had felt before hand, only it was much stronger now. The twins looked at each other before getting up and looking back toward the door.

"Yugi. Heba. You two okay?" Jou asked.

"Everyone get back! Malik, Jou, Ryou! Get up here!" Heba said.

"What's wrong?" Ryou asked, recognizing Heba's worried tone.

"Something's here. Something that shouldn't be here." Yugi said.

"What are you talking about?" Aknankanon asked.

"Trust them. They wouldn't act like this if they thought that nothing was wrong." Sugoroku said. He knew Heba could be a prankster, but he wouldn't do this as a prank, and the fact that Yugi was also on edge only confirmed that this was no joke.

Deciding that they should listen to the two for the time being, Aknankanon motioned for everyone to move back, which they did.

Yugi walked a little closer to the door.

"Yugi." Heba breathed.

"I know." Yugi replied. He had sensed this power before.

The day of the attack that destroyed their childhood.

Beofre anyone could react, the doors were blown open.

Yugi held up a hand and blocked the attack with a shield.

"Well, this is a surprise." a voice said.

As the smoke cleared, Zinfri was seen with some of his raiders.

"He's got some nerve coming here." Marik spat.

"You know him?" Atemu asked.

"He's one of the raiders that kidnapped us." Yami replied.

Yugi looked at Zinfri as his memory came back to him.

Flashback!

_"Malik! Yugi! Run!" a man ordered._

_"But Father-" a young Yugi started._

_"Go! Get out of here!" Lord Mutou ordered as he fought with Zinfri._

_"It's over, Lord Mutou!" Zinfri said as he knocked Lord Mutou's sword out fo his hand and then slit his throat._

_"NO!" Yugi screamed._

_"Yugi, come on!" Malik shouted, dragging the younger boy away._

End Flashback

"It was you." Yugi said in a voice filled with anger and hatred, something uncommon for him.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 8. I thought that would be a good place to stop. You'll see the rest of Yugi's anger and the other's reaction next.

R&R.


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

Chapter 9

Zinfri looked at Yugi, confused. "Just what are you talking about, brat?" Zinfri demanded.

Heba was about to say something, but Yugi beat him to it.

"You were the one who killed my father." Yugi said.

There were several startled gasps.

Zinfri, then, realized what it was that Yugi meant. "I see. You were one of the two brats that escaped ten years ago. I thought that you had both been killed when we caused the fire." Zinfri said.

Malik's eyes flashed. "I don't know why you did that, but you are really going to regret it." Malik said.

"I'd like to see you try." Zinfri said.

"Yugi, are you sure?" Heba asked.

"Yeah. It was him." Yugi replied.

"If he killed Yugi's father, then-" Isis started.

"-he helped in the attack against the House of Ra ten years ago." Mahado finished,

"Why didn't Yugi mention it before?' Marik asked.

"He was trying to stop them and probably didn't take a good look at his face. Plus, it was dark and hard to see. He didn't recognize him then." Yami s aid.

"I am sure he'll regret it." Sugoroku said.

"How do you know, sir?" Atemu asked.

"I know the kind of power Yugi and Heba possess on their own. Together, they have unbelievable power. I do not believe that Zinfri realizes that." Sugoroku explained.

"Will they need help from the other three?" Karim asked.

"They don't need to, but they have always worked together, and this will not be any different." Sugoroku replied.

"Ryou, use your shields and made sure that none of them get hurt. It's our duty to protect them." Yugi said.

"Right." Ryou replied.

"Yugi, it'll be safer if we get this fight out of this room. It's too enclosed." Jou said.

Zinfri, tired of the waiting, formed a ball of magic in his hand and threw it at them.

Yugi held up his hand and the ball's trajectory was changed, going back at Zinfri.

Zinfri barely had time to move out of the way. Zinfri looked back at Yugi, anger written al over his face. "Just what are you?" Zinfri demanded.

Heba smirked. "You don't know a lot about us." Heba said. He threw his arm out and sent Zinfri and the others flying backwards out into the hallway.

Zinfri got up and looked at them. 'Maybe I should have waited until I knew more about them, but I was certain that I could handle them.' Zinfri thought.

Zinfri, along with all his raiders, threw balls of magic at them.

Yugi moved in front of them all and held up his hand as all the attacks hit a shield that threw them back and hit all of the raiders with more force then they originally did.

"I think I see what Yugi means by the act that his powers are used for defense more than offense." Marik said.

"That's how their magic works. Yugi's is defensive, and Heba's is offensive." Sugoroku said.

"Come on. We really need to stop this." Heba said.

"I don't; care what it takes. Kill all five of those people. They are a nuisance and are just getting in our way." Zinfri said.

Heba, Yugi, Malik, and Jou darted out into the hallway to face Zinfri and the raiders while Ryou remained at the door to protect everyone else.

Zinfri and the raiders sent blasts of magic at the four, but the four just countered with their own, more powerful attacks.

"Ryou, are you not helping them?" Sugoroku asked.

"No. Someone has to keep all of you protected." Ryou replied.

"We'll be fine, Ryou. I think that they could use you a little more than we do." Bakura said.

Ryou nodded and went to help the other four.

Zinfri was sick of the five. 'They should have been dead. If they were, we wouldn't even be in the position that we are in now.' Zinfri thought. He formed another ball in his hand and sent it at Heba.

Heba saw it and sent a ball of golden magic at the attack.

Heba's attack cut right through Zinfri's attack and hit him in the chest, sending Zinfri crashing back into a stone pillar.

Yugi heard something that sounded like a crack. He was forced to suck to avoid a fist from a raider and swung his foot out, knocking the raider backwards. Another raider grabbed hold of Yugi from behind, but Yugi rammed his elbow back into the raider's stomach and then grabbed hole of the raider's wrist and shoulder and ducked as he flipped the raider over his shoulder, sending the raider crashing into the stone floor.

Ryou was grabbed by a raider, but Ryou kicked the raider in the shin, causing the raider to cry out in pain before Ryou punched the raider in the face. Another raider swung a dagger at him, but Ryou moved to the side and grabbed the raider by the wrist, twisting his wrist painfully. The raider lost his grip on the dagger before Ryou kneed the raider in the stomach, causing the raider to double over in pain. Ryou then brought his elbow down into the raider's back, causing the raider to fall onto the floor.

"Where did Ryou learn to fight like that?" Aknankanon asked.

Atemu, Yami, and Seth looked over at Bakura, which caused everyone else to look at him.

Bakura smirked. "What? I wanted him to know how to defend himself if necessary." Bakura said.

Jou formed a ball of magic and threw it at a raider, hitting the raider dead in the chest and sending the raider crashing down to the ground. He didn't see the raider coming at him from behind.

"Jou, look out!" Malik warned as he ran kicked the raider from the side, throwing him away from Jou.

Jou glanced at the raider then at Malik before he said, "Thanks, Malik."

"Anytime, cousin. I wouldn't want your fiancé to get angry because you got hurt." Malik said.

"Yeah, I know." Jou said.

Yugi heard a crack once more and glanced down. His yes widened when he saw cracks in the stone structure. 'Our magic!' Yugi thought.

Heba formed a ball of magic in his hand.

Yugi noticed and shouted, "Heba, don't!"

It was too late.

Heba threw the ball of magic at one of the raiders, but the raiders dove out of the way, and the attack hit the ground.

The ground started to shake.

"What the-!" Zinfri shouted.

"What's-" Jou started.

The balcony started to crumble, and Yugi and Heba, along with Zinfri and several of the raiders, fell as the balcony fell down into the courtyard.

"Heba! Yugi!" Malik, Jou, and Ryou shouted.

The royals ran over to where the three were looking down at the crumbled balcony and the rubble below.

"Where are they?" Atemu asked.

"Okay. This isn't good." Jou said.

They looked around, but didn't see Yugi and Heba anywhere.

Unfortunately, Zinfri and the other raiders that had fallen were getting up.

"Come on!" Malik said.

Jou and Ryou followed him, knowing that they had to get to Zinfri and the raiders before they managed to cause any more damage or escape.

Zinfri glared at the rubble. "I hope those two brats were killed by that fall." Zinfri said murderously.

Magical blasts hit them and sent them crashing into the side of the wall.

Zinfri glared at Jou, Ryou, and Malik. "I've had it. They die now!" Zinfri said.

Before Zinfri and all the raiders could attack, several other magical blasts hit them.

Zinfri looked to see a dusty and slightly bruised Heba standing on top of the rubble.

Yugi rose up so that his arms were resting on the rubble beside Heba. "Heba." Yugi said.

"Yeah?" Heba asked, worried at the extremely calm tone Yugi had, which usually indicated he was beyond mad.

"When this is over, you are so dead." Yugi said.

"Perhaps we could end it a little more quickly working together than if we continue like this." Heba suggested.

"Right." Yugi said, climbing up beside his brother.

The two took hold of each other's hand and a gold glow emitted from their entwined hands. Both raised their hands and released a powerful blast of magic.

The attack hit Zinfri and all of the raiders, and they were thrown into the wall. Parts of the wall crumbled and fell on the now unconscious raiders, unable to stay conscious from the force of the attack.

Unfortunately, Yugi and Heba were not having much better luck. Unused to using their powers together, he recoil threw Yugi and Heba backwards into the palace wall, and they fell onto the ground.

Everyone ran over to where the two had been thrown.

"Yugi! Heba! You two okay?" Malik called as they all walked behind the rubble.

They found Heba on Yugi's back.

"Heba." Yugi said in the same calm tone.

"Yes." Heba replied, hating the tone.

Malik, Ryou, and Jou all knew the tone and inched back slightly.

"You are a dead man for all this!" Yugi said angrily, glaring at his tin.

Heba jumped up and backed away. "It's not like I did it on purpose." Heba said.

"I'm referring to landing on my back." Yugi said.

"Oh." Heba replied.

"Are you both all right? That was a bad fall." Isis said.

"Yeah. My shield protected us for the most part, and I wound up cushioning his fall even more." Yugi said, pointing to Heba.

"I take it that this was the second time you landed on his back." Ryou said to Heba.

"Yeah." Heba replied.

"Well, at least both of you are all right." Yami said.

Mahado glanced back at where Zinfri and his raiders were unconscious. "What should we do with them?" Mahado asked.

Aknankanon looked angrily at them. "Put them in the dungeon, and I will deal with later." Aknankanon said.

"Before you do that, Heba, you'd better do the power stripping spell." Yugi said.

"Why me?" Heba asked.

It was then that everyone noticed that Yugi was clutching right side.

"Because I have one or more bruised and or broken ribs, Heba, and it hurts a little too much to move." Yugi replied as he sat down.

"Why don't I just go do that." Heba said and walked over to where the raiders were.

"Marik, over see that nothing happens." Aknankanon said.

Marik nodded and followed Heba.

"Do you no think that Marik might kill them?" Karim asked.

"Let him. I honestly could care less." Aknankanon said.

Ryou walked over and sat down beside Yugi. "Yugi, are you going to be okay?" Ryou asked.

"Should be. It could have been a lot worse." Yugi said,

"This whole battle could have been a lot worse." Heba said as he rejoined them.

"Did it work?" Jou asked.

"Like a charm. They'll be rather surprised when they wake up to find that they no longer have any magic." Heba said.

"I have a question. How did this, "Bakura said, gesturing to the rubble, "happen?"

"It was all the magic being used. Although the palace was built strong, with the amount of magic being released, it just put so much strain on it that the structure itself couldn't stand it. It crumbled when that last magical attack was used." Yugi said.

"And you and Heba just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time." Seth said.

"Pretty much." Yugi replied.

"This has been quite a day." Sugoroku said.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, the palace didn't get though this unscathed." Heba said, glancing up at the damage.

Everyone looked up and wondered what Aknankanon would say about all this,

"Well, it'll take some work to repair, but the good thing is that no one was killed." Aknankanon said.

Isis looked at Yugi and said, "Perhaps you should come to the healing chambers do I can make sure that there are no more injuries. You, too, Heba."

"That's a good idea." Atemu agreed.

"Can't Yugi just heal them both?" Seth asked.

Yugi smiled. "My healing ability does not give me the ability to heal myself. It does heal me faster, but not automatically." Yugi said.

"That sucks." Bakura said.

"Bakura!" Ryou exclaimed, glaring at his fiancé.

"It's okay, Ryou. He's right. It does, but not much we can do about it." Yugi said.

* * *

Zinfri came to and was shocked to find himself in the dungeon. 'So, the Pharaoh thinks that he can keep me here, does he? I'll show him.' Zinfri thought. He tried to use his magic, but found that it was gone. "What is this? What happened?!" Zinfri shouted.

"What happened is that you were stripped of your magic." Marik said.

Zinfri glared at the captain as he stood in front of Zinfri's cell, smirking.

"How? No one in the palace has the ability to do such a thing." Zinfri said.

"Actually, Heba did that. He does have that ability, and I'm willing to bet that so do the rest of the members of the House of Ra." Marik said.

Zinfri glared. "Stop being so smug." he hissed.

"Why? You're my prisoner this time, and considering that you kidnapped and tortured his son, I very much doubt that the Pharaoh would care if I treated you the exact same way you treated him and me." Marik said.

"You wouldn't dare." Zinfri said.

"Oh, but I would. I don't think that anyone would care when they find out you kidnapped one of the Princes and tortured him. Besides, no guard here is going to pity you since I am their captain." Marik said, still smirking.

Zinfri glared. "You wouldn't. You're supposed to be on the good side." Zinfri said.

"I am, but even those who are good have the need for revenge." Marik said.

* * *

Yugi lay flat on his back on the bed that he had in the room he had been given with his eyes closed.

"Yugi, you going to be okay?" Heba asked.

"Yeah. I should be completely healed within a week's time." Yugi replied, not opening his eyes.

Heba sat on the edge of the bed and said, "Are you still angry at me?"

Yugi opened his eyes and sat up. "I never was. Sorry if I was a littler terse, but I wasn't in the best of moods and the pain wasn't helping matters." Yugi said.

"Good. I was a little worried that you were angry." Heba said.

"No. I was really angry at Zinfri." Yugi said.

"Did he really kill our father?" Heba asked.

"Yeah. He was coming after Malik and me, but Father started fighting him and told us to run. Zinfri was able to kill him while he was distracted. Malik grabbed me and practically dragged me out of the house. He managed to get just as the house burst into flames. We were sure that everyone had been killed. I remembered Arthur when he found us, and he remembered me, too. He told us that Grandpa was with him, and that he was safe. That's when Arthur took us back to his home." Yugi said.

"I'm just glad that both of you are all right. We always thought that both of you were dead." Heba said.

"Believe me. I know what that's like. Malik and I thought the same thing about all of you. It was a shock to see you." Yugi said.

"Heba laughed as he lay down. "You've got that right. I thought I was seeing ghosts for a second." Heba said.

There was a knock on the door.

"Heba, could you get that?" Yugi asked.

"Sure." Heba replied. He got off the bed and opened the door. He was startled when the person ran into the room.

"Yugi, are you all right?!" Rebecca cried as she jumped on the bed.

The bed bounced, aggravating Yugi's injuries. "I'm fine, Becca. Really. I wasn't hurt that bad." Yugi told her.

"Is it true that it was those raiders that attacked us on our way here?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, but they're in the dungeons now, and I doubt the Pharaoh will take it easy on the considering they're the ones that kidnapped Yami and Marik." Yugi said.

Heba cleared his throat, trying to get Yugi's attention.

Yugi glanced up at his brother and said, "What is it?"

"Who is this?" Heba asked.

Rebecca looked back and said, "I was wondering the same thing about you?"

"Heba, this is Lord Hawkins' granddaughter, Rebecca. Becca, this is Heba, my twin brother." Yugi said.

"Oh. I was wondering why you were so glad to see him." Rebecca said.

"Well, we haven't seen each other in ten years, so we're pretty glad to see each other." Yugi said.

Heba wondered if Yugi and Rebecca were a couple. 'Grandpa and his friend always did want to join their families', if I'm remembering right. I wonder if they're finally doing it.' Heba thought.

"Rebecca, where's Leon?" Yugi asked.

"Oh. He's in his room." Rebecca replied. "I was worried about you, so I wanted to come and see if you were all right." she finished.

"Well, you see I'm fine. Now go and see Leon." Yugi said.

Rebecca giggled. "Okay, Yugi. See you later." Rebecca said before she left the room.

"That was interesting." Heba said.

Yugi smiled. "Sorry. Rebecca's real attached to me and worries about me a lot." Yugi said.

"Out of curiosity, are you and she together?" Heba asked.

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked.

"I mean are you two getting married? Grandpa and Lord Hawkins always did want to join their families." Heba said.

Yugi shook his head. "No, Heba. Rebecca and I don't have that kind of relationship. Rebecca's like a little sister to me. I won't lie. Grandpa and Arthur did try to push us together, but they saw that it wouldn't work. Rebecca and I pretty much grew up together and formed a brother and sister type bond. They understood that. Rebecca's betrothed to Leon von Schroeder." Yugi explained.

"Oh. Sorry. I just thought that they might have pushed you two together." Heba said.

"They tried. Believe me. They tries, but it never worked." Yugi said.

Heba had been nervous about asking his brother a certain question, so he thought that then was the best the time. "Um, Yugi. About me marrying Atemu. Does it bother you?" Heba asked.

Yugi looked at his brother funny. "Heba, why should it bother me? You're getting married to the Crown Prince of Egypt. You'll be well taken care of. I haven't spent that much time around him, but he seems like a good man." Yugi said.

"No. I mean, does it bother you that I'll be marrying a guy?" Heba asked.

"Heba, that does not bother me. Love's rare, and when you find it, you should hold on to it, even if it they're your gender. The only thing that concerns me is that he loves you and treats you right." Yugi said.

"He does. I know he loves me, and even when I was his slave, he treated me kindly. Truth be known, had it not been for the slave-master thing, we probably would have been in a relationship from the start." Heba said.

"I trust the same thing is going on with Jou and Ryou." Yugi said.

"Yeah. They're treated right, too. You don't need to worry." Heba said.

"Good. That's all that really matters to me." Yugi said.

* * *

The sorceress stood out in the desert. "So, Zinfri has been captured. Arrogant fool. I shouldn't have protected him for all these years. Now, he must face his crimes." she smirked. "Not that I mind. After all, that means I can continue with my plan." the sorceress said. She vanished in a blaze of black smoke.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 9. I hope that you liked it, adn I hope the fight scene satisfied you.

For those wanting to know about the sorceress, you'll have to wait a few chapter. The next few chapters will be fluffy.

R&R.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Aknankanon rubbed his head as Isis was talking to him.

Isis smiled at him and said, "You knew that having three weddings around the same time would be a lot of work, Pharaoh."

"Yes, I know. I really wish Atemu, Seth and Bakura had spaced them out." Aknankanon said.

"Well, Atemu's will the last since he is the Crown Prince." Isis said.

"I know. Bakura and Ryou will be the first two to get married." Aknankanon said.

"Shall I get everything ready for it then?" Isis asked.

"Please." Aknankanon said.

Isis bowed before she left the throne room.

Aknankanon sighed. 'What have I gotten myself into?' Aknankanon asked himself.

"A headache already?" a voice asked.

Aknankanon looked up to see Sugoroku standing there. "Three weddings back to back is not something that I thought would happen." Aknankanon said.

Sugoroku smiled. "I take it that you are happy that Marik and Malik are not getting married yet." Sugoroku said.

Aknankanon groaned. "Please don't even joke about something like that. Three is bad enough." Aknankanon said.

"At least Marik's won't be as big a deal. Malik doesn't like being the center of attention in such situations, so I know that he'll want a smaller wedding." Sugoroku said.

"Seth and Bakura do, too. Truthfully, their weddings will be simple. Atemu isn't so lucky. I know that he'd prefer a small wedding, but being the Price, he doesn't get a choice." Aknankanon said.

"Would Yami get a choice in a small wedding when he gets married?" Sugoroku asked.

"Afraid not." Aknankanon said.

Sugoroku's face turned serious. "What are you going to do with Zinfri and the rest of the raiders?" Sugoroku asked.

"I don't know yet. I've been tempted to tell Yami and Marik to do what they wish with him. Give Heba, Yugi, Ryou, Malik, and Jou that option, too. They've all been harmed by him." Aknankanon said.

"Yugi wouldn't take that option. Ryou, either. Neither one of them would want to be responsible for such a thing." Sugoroku replied.

"Would Heba, Jou, and Malik?" Aknankanon asked.

"In a split second." Sugoroku replied.

"I might have to look into that." Aknankanon said.

"You know that Arthur, Rebecca, and Leon are leaving soon." Sugoroku said.

"Yes. I know." Aknankanon said.

"I believe that I am going to go with them." Sugoroku said.

Aknankanon looked at him in surprise. "You need not leave, Sugoroku. It is no trouble for you to remain here at the palace." Aknankanon said.

"I know, but I have lived there for ten years, and I am too old for such a big change." Sugoroku replied.

"Considering the relationship he is in with Marik, I know that Malik will stay. What about Yugi?" Aknankanon asked.

"He'll want to stay. He has thought that his brother and cousins have been dead. I'm not ripping him away from them. Besides, I know that Yugi would be glad to help you with any marriage arrangements that need done." Sugoroku said.

Aknankanon stood up. "Very well. I would welcome some help." Aknankanon said.

Sugoroku nodded.

* * *

"Can't believe that Grandpa left." Jou said.

"Don't worry about it He'll be back. He's not going to miss any of your weddings." Yugi said.

"Well, he'll be waiting awhile for mine." Malik said.

"Don't want to marry Marik right now?" Ryou asked.

"He'd like to, but I think that it is way too early." Malik siad.

"Hey, Ryou. You nervous about being the first one to get married?" Jou asked.

"Nope. I'm excited. I can't wait for it." Ryou said.

"Heba, how do you feel about having to have such an extravagant wedding?" Yugi asked.

Heba groaned. "I could live without it, but I do know that I don't have a choice since Atemu is the Crown Prince." Heba said.

"Well, Yugi. Looks like you're the only one out of our group that isn't with someone." Jou said jokingly.

Yugi blushed and looked down. "Yeah. I am." Yugi said.

Heba frowned. "Yugi, are you okay?" Heba asked.

"I'm fine." Yugi said, smiling.

It took Heba a moment before he realized what was up with his brother. "Yugi, there's someone that you like isn't there?" Heba asked.

Yugi starred at his brother, wide-eyed. "O-of course not. W-what makes you t-think that?" Yugi asked.

"There is someone." Heba said, seeing through his brother's lie.

"Who is it, Yugi?" Jou asked.

"No! There's no way that I'm saying! I know you, Jou. You can't keep a secret to save your life. If I tell you, he'll know within an hour." Yugi protested.

"So it's a guy." Jou said.

Yugi blushed.

Heba knew Yugi wouldn't tell Malik or Jou. He might would Ryou, but the best way to get Yugi to tell him would be if it was just the two of them. "Hey. Didn't Seth, Bakura, and Marik want to see you guys about now?" Heba asked.

"What are you-?" Jou started before Ryou discreetly kicked him in the shin.

"You're right, Heba. We completely forgot. Come one guys, lets go meet them. You know how they get when we don't meet them on time." Ryou said. He practically dragged Jou and Malik away from Yugi and Heba.

"Thanks, Heba." Yugi said, glad that his brother had gotten him off the hook.

"Yugi, tell me who it is." Heba said.

"No, Heba. I really don't want to." Yugi protested.

"Come on, Yugi. You know me. I would never tell anyone. Besides, you know that you'll feel better once you tell someone." Heba said.

Yugi glanced over at his brother. "You promise that it won't go any further than us." Yugi said.

Heba raised a hand and said, "I promise it won't."

Yugi smiled a little. "Okay. The truth is that I have found myself liking Yami." Yugi said.

"You like Yami?" Heba asked.

Yugi nodded, blushing. "I honestly don't know why, but after I got to talking to him before we came here, I found myself liking him. He just seems so strong and confident." Yugi siad.

"Not to mention good-looking." Heba said.

"Heba!" Yugi exclaimed.

"Oh, like you weren't thinking it." Heba said.

Yugi blushed since he knew that it was true.

"Yugi, there's no shame in it. I'll admit fast that Atemu is good looking, but that doesn't change the fact that I love him for who he is, not his looks." Heba said.

Yugi looked at him. "You can see why I didn't have a problem with you being with Atemu." Yugi said.

"Yeah." Heba said. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yugi, you should tell Yami how you feel." Heba said.

Yugi shook his head. "I can't."

"Why not?" Heba asked.

"I know Yami doesn't have an interest in women. He told me that himself. I just don't think that he could possibly like me. I mean, he could have anyone, so why would he settle for me?" Yugi asked.

"Yugi, believe me. Yami won't settle for anyone. You should tell him." Heba said.

"Sorry. I just can't do that, Heba." Yugi said.

Heba sighed. "Okay. And I promise not to tell Yami." Heba said.

Yugi smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Heba. I appreciate it." Yugi said.

Heba nodded as he put an arm around Yugi while he concealed a smirk. 'I didn't say I wouldn't tell Atemu.' Heba thought impishly. He was determined to drag his lover into this and help him find out how Yami felt about Yugi.

* * *

Atemu and Yami were in Atemu's room.

"I think that Father would love nothing more than the chance to kill me, Bakura, and Seth." Atemu said as he lay on his bed.

"What did you expect? You three geniuses decided to get married around the exact same time. You know that panning three weddings isn't something that is usually done. And I'm sure that planning yours alone is enough to give our father a headache." Yami said.

Atemu growled. "I wish that Father did not have to make my marriage such a big deal. I would have liked to have just had a small wedding." Atemu said.

"You're not getting out of it, Atemu. I won't either. You know that because we are the princes of Egypt Father has no choice except to do that. You know he has to invite the kings, princes, princesses, nobles, etc. to the wedding for diplomatic reasons." Yami said.

"Yeah. I know. Most of those princesses are probably still going to be after me." Atemu said.

Yami snickered. "All you have to do is tell Heba, and I'm sure that he'll use his magic to make them pay. After all, I really don't think he's going to want all those girls touching you. You do belong to him, after all." Yami said, smirking.

Atemu glared. "Just shut up, Yami. You don't have to worry about it. You're not the one who is going to be getting married." Atemu said.

"Come on, Atemu. You've known since we were little that you would be having a big wedding. Considering that we're both princes, there's' not much that we can do about that fact." Yami said.

"Yeah, but I wish we did." Atemu said as he fell back onto the bed. "I would have liked to have just had a small wedding like Bakura and Seth are instead of a big, fancy wedding that is just for how." Atemu said.

Yam bit his lip. There were a few things that he had wanted to ask his brother, but he wasn't sure if he should do that or not. "Uh, Atemu. What do you think about Yugi?" Yami asked.

"Yugi? I really don't know. I haven't spent that much time around him. I've been letting Heba spend a lot of time with him since they haven't seen each other in ten years. I do know that he seems likable. He just seems to have a kind and compassionate air about him." Atemu said.

"Yeah. That's what I thought when I first met him." Yami said.

"He seems rather brave and caring, too, to risk his life for someone that he's never met before." Atemu said. He turned his head to look at his brother. "Why do you ask?"

Yami blushed slightly. "There's no reason. I was just wondering." Yami replied.

A little too quickly.

Atemu sat up and starred at his brother. "Yami, why did you ask me about Yugi?" Atemu demanded.

"There's no reason. I was just wondering considering I do owe him my life." Yami replied. Unfortunately for him, thinking about Yugi had Yami blushing a little more.

It hit Atemu. "You have a crush on Yugi, don't you?" Atemu asked.

"No, I don't!" Yami retorted. He groaned and said rather quickly, "IthinkI'minlovewithhim."

Atemu blinked. "What did you say?" Atemu asked.

Yami looked up and said, "I think I'm in love with him."

Atemu starred at Yami in disbelief. "You're in love with Yugi?" Atemu asked.

"Yeah." Yami replied.

"When I thought about you coming back, coming back in love was not what I had in mind." Atemu said.

"It's not like I planned this. I guess Yugi's kindness and compassion is what drew me to him. Not to mention his innocence. I've talked to him some, and he just seems to have unique views that allow him to see things in a way that just isn't usually done." Yami said.

"So, does he feel the same way?" Atemu asked.

"I, um, don't really know. I haven't told him yet." Yami said.

"You haven't told him you're in love with him?" Atemu asked.

Yami shook his head.

"Why not?!" Atemu exclaimed.

"I just don't want to. I don't know if he feels that way." Yami said.

"Well, do you know if he likes guys?" Atemu asked.

"Not exactly. I was telling him about you being engaged to Heba, and he said that he thought love was a rare thing and that it shouldn't matter whether that person is a boy or girl. As long as they're in love, he thinks its fine." Yami said.

"That's a unique way to look at it." Atemu said. He thought about what his brother said and then said, "Hold it! If you told Yugi I was engaged to Heba, then why didn't he realize it was his brother?"

"Well, um, I didn't exactly say Heba's name. I just told him you were engaged to a guy. Since Marik and I were kidnapped the night of your engagements, I didn't think the kingdom would know yet, so I didn't say Heba's name." Yami replied.

"Are you going to tell Yugi?" Atemu asked.

"I don't know. I mean, I just met him, and I'd be telling him that I'm in love with him. That's a little fast, don't you think?" Yami asked.

"Yami, I was in love with Heba from the first second I saw him. True, it might have been lust at first, but I fell in love with who Heba was, and that was in the first few days. If the slave-master rule hadn't applied, I would have told Heba then." Atemu said.

"I know, but I'm not sure if I could. I mean, if he doesn't feel the same way, then I'm not sire I could handle it." Yami said.

"So, you're afraid of rejection?" Atemu asked.

Yami nodded.

"Yami, may I remind you that you were the one who set me and Heba on a hunch about how Heba felt?" Atemu asked.

"I know, but-" Yami started.

"But nothing! The only difference is that its you, not me." Atemu said.

"Atemu, I don't see how Yugi could actually fall in love with someone like me. You know better than anyone that I have problems telling anyone how I really feel about them. I mean, you're my brother, and I'd rather play a prank on you than tell you I love you." Yami said.

Atemu blinked. "You know something, Yami." Atemu said.

"What?" Yami asked.

"I think that's the first time you ever admitted that you love me." Atemu said.

Yami glared. "You see my point." Yami said dejectedly.

Atemu sighed. "Yami, I know that you don't like the idea of rejection, but you'll feel a lot better when you learnt eh truth about whether or not Yugi loves you." Atemu said.

"I think I'd rather continuing to live disillusioned than to find out that." Yami said. He looked at his brother and said, "You'd better not tell Yugi anything that I have said to you."

Atemu raised a hand. "I won't tell Yugi. I promise." Atemu said. 'That doesn't mean I won't tell Heba.' Atemu thought, hiding his smirk.

* * *

Zinfri grimaced as he was thrown back into the side of the cell, feeling a shooting pain going through his entire body as he sank down to the floor of the cell once more.

Marik bent down and grabbed Zinfri by the front of his tunic, pulling him back up to his feet. "Not so much fun when you're the one being beaten, is it?" Marik asked.

"Do you think the Pharaoh will let you get away with this?" Zinfri asked.

"Actually, I do. You see, you kidnapped his son, beat the crap out of him, attacked us in his place, and endangered the life of his oldest son's fiancé along with two of the priests' fiancés." Marik said before punching Zinfri in the face, sending him back to the floor. "Besides, a little pay back never hurt anyone. At least, not me." Marik said, smirking as he left the cell.

A few moments later, Aknankanon arrived at the cell and glanced in to see the state that Zinfri was in. "What happened to him, Marik?" Aknankanon asked, although he had a pretty good idea of what had occurred.

"You know that some prisoners are just out of control and have to be physically stopped. He's just being a little hard to get along with." Marik explained.

Aknankanon didn't believe him, but he really didn't care what Marik did to him. "Fine" He motioned Marik to the side, and the two moved to the side so that Zinfri could not hear them.

"What is it, Pharaoh?" Marik asked.

"I was letting you know that later today, I'm going to sentence Zinfri and the rest of his raiders. I want you to be ready with your guards, and make sure that they do not escape." Aknankanon said.

"Of course, my Pharaoh." Marik replied.

"Good. I trust Zinfri won't be a problem" Aknankanon asked, glancing at the injured raider.

"Of course not. If he gets out of control, we'll find a way to control him." Marik assured him.

"Very well." Aknankanon said before leaving.

Marik smirked. 'He won't be a problem at all.' Marik thought.

* * *

"What's this meeting all about?" Seth, angry.

"It's just sentencing Zinfri and the rest of his raiders." Atemu said.

"What's gotten you so angry?" Yami asked.

"Oh, he's mad because we were in a make-out session when we were called." Jou said.

"Oh. I'm glad Bakura and I weren't." Ryou said.

"And why is that, Ryou?" Bakura demanded.

"Because whoever had interrupted us would have been dead in less than a second." Ryou explained.

"Got that right." Bakura said.

"Sadistic much?" Malik asked.

"Oh, Bakura's always like that. He talks about killing people all the time, but he never actually does that." Heba said.

"So, why are we going?" Yugi asked.

"Since we're members of the House of Ra, the Pharaoh likes for us to be there. We're not at the meetings all the time like the others are." Ryou said.

"No, which is why we consider you lucky since you don't have to sit through all of the boring meetings." Bakura said.

The group arrived at the throne room.

Atemu, Yami, Seth, and Bakura took their usual places.

Heba motioned for Yugi and Malik to follow them, and the five moved off to the side.

"Marik, bring them in." Aknankanon ordered.

"Yes, my Pharaoh." Marik said before bowing and leaving the throne room.

Atemu glanced at his father. 'For what they've done, there's not a chance that these raiders are getting out of death. One thing that Father takes seriously is threats on his family, and since these guys were the ones that kidnapped Yami, there's not a chance that Father's no going to have them out to death.' Atemu thought before turning his eyes back to the doors of the throne room.

Marik along with Hondo and several other guards brought all of the raiders into the throne room and forced them to bow before Aknankanon.

"All of you raiders have committed the act of high treason in kidnapping my son as well as the captain of the Royal guard." Aknankanon said. Although Marik was a guard, because of the closeness Marik had with both his sons, Aknankanon saw him as part of the Royal family. "Such treasonous actions will not go unpunished. " Aknankanon said as he stood up. "You're actions have led to this. You will al be executed for your actions!" Aknankanon said.

Zinfri glowered, but said nothing. He knew that without his magic, there wasn't much that he could do, and he knew that the sorceress would not help him out of this mess.

"Take them out of here. Their punishment shall be carried out tomorrow." Aknankanon said.

With that, the guards led the raiders out of the throne and took them back to the dungeons.

* * *

That night, Atemu and Heba lay in bed after several rounds of love making. Heba had his head resting on Atemu's chest while Atemu ran his head through Heba's hair.

"Hey, Atemu." Heba said.

"Yes." Atemu replied.

"What do you think of my brother?" Heba asked.

"I can't really say. The truth is that I haven't been around him enough to know, but I do know that I like him since he was willing to save my brother's life and Marik's. From what little I've seen, he's brave, loyal, kind, compassionate, and innocent." Atemu said.

"So, you like him." Heba prodded.

"I suppose so. I don't have much of a choice considering he will be my brother-in-law." Atemu said.

Heba sighed. "I'm being serious, Atemu." Heba said.

"I know. I don't have any problem with your brother other than the fact he's seen more of you these past few days than I have." Atemu said.

Heba raised up to look Atemu in the eyes. "You're being hard to get along with, you know." Heba said.

Atemu grinned. "No. I don't have a problem with your brother." Atemu said.

"Atemu, Yugi told me something rather interesting." Heba said.

"Should you tell me this if he told you in secret?" Atemu asked.

"Well, technically, I promised him that I wouldn't tell Yami." Heba said.

Atemu raised an eyebrow, his curiosity peeked. "And what did you promise not to tell Yami?" Atemu asked.

"I promised him I wouldn't tell Yami that Yugi likes him." Heba said.

"So he likes him. A lot of people do." Atemu said.

"No. I mean like him as in how I like you." Heba said.

"He does?" Atemu said, sitting up straight.

Heba fell backwards onto his back and glared up. "You didn't have to do that!"

"I'm sorry, but I talked to Yami today, and he told me that he's in love with Yugi." Atemu said.

"Really?" Heba asked.

Atemu nodded.

Heba smiled. "Is he willing to tell Yugi?" Heba asked.

"No. He's afraid of rejection." Atemu replied.

"Same with Yugi." Heba said. He looked up at Atemu and grinned. "Maybe we should play a little matchmaking since neither one of them are willing to make the first move." Heba said.

"I'm sure that Jou, Seth, Bakura, Ryou, Marik, and Malik would be willing to help us, too." Atemu said.

"And with three weddings, we'll have plenty of chances to get them together." Heba said.

"This should be interesting." Atemu said. He pulled Heba up and said, "I love you, my little matchmaker."

"I love you, too." Heba said as their lips met. He pulled away and said, "Do you think Yami will be mad that you did this?"

"He might, but it's payback for him playing matchmaker with us." Atemu replied.

"You're awful." Heba said.

"So what?" Atemu said before pushing Heba down on the bed, pinning him. "Ready for another round?" Atemu asked.

"Like I have a choice." Heba replied, lust in his eyes.

Atemu kissed him and both forgot about Yugi and Yami for the next few hours.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 10. I figured I'd get Zinfri out of the picture. Hope you liked it.

I'm planning to do the weddings in the next chapter.

R&R.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"So, Yugi likes Yami, and Yami likes Yugi, but neither wants to say anything?" Jou asked.

"Pretty much." Atemu said.

"And you two came across this information how?" Bakura asked.

"Yugi told me, and Yami told Atemu. We told each other last night." Heba said.

"Remind me never to tell either one of you anything since you'll both find out." Seth said.

"Well, technically I just promised Yugi that I wouldn't tell Yami. I didn't say anything about Atemu." Heba said.

"Same here. We figure that since we know, we could find a way to get them together." Atemu said.

"And you want us to help why?" Marik asked.

"Do you really want to be around my lovesick brother without doing something?" Atemu asked.

"Fine. We'll help." Bakura said.

"How do you plan on getting them together?" Ryou asked.

"Well, we figure that the weddings are a good place to start." Atemu said.

"You're using the weddings to get them together." Seth said.

"IN a way. Father needs help getting everything ready. We'll try to get Father to get them to help him. They'll be forced to spend time together, in any case." Malik said.

"And if that doesn't work, we could always use the weddings themselves." Ryou said.

"Why use our weddings though?" Bakura demanded.

"Calm down, Bakura. The ones getting married will have nothing to do with those plans. The ones who aren't will." Atemu said.

"You really think that this will work?" Jou asked.

"I don't know, but we know that those two aren't going to act on their own. All we're going to do is give them a little push." Heba said.

* * *

Yami and Yugi were in the dining room where the party would take place after Ryou and Bakura's wedding.

"I can't believe my father roped me into helping do this." Yami groaned.

"Well, Bakura is your friend. I thought that you'd like to help get his wedding ready." Yugi said.

Yami glanced at him. "Seth, a long shot since he's my cousin. Atemu, maybe because he's my brother. Bakura, not really." Yami said.

"Well, the Pharaoh's handling most of the plans for the wedding itself. All we have to do it get everything set for the party." Yugi said.

"Fine." Yami said, standing up to follow the younger.

The two began to talk to the cook and his assistant about what foods they should prepare.

From the doorway, Heba, Jou, Seth, and Atemu peered in.

"How do plan on trying now?" Seth asked.

Heba glanced at the table and smiled. "With a little magic and knowing my brother." Heba said. He flicked his wrist slightly and knocked over a pitcher of water that was on the table so that the water covered an area of the floor.

"Why did you do that?" Atemu asked.

"You'll see." Jou said, snickering. He knew exactly what Heba had in mind.

Meanwhile, Yugi and Yami had finished talking to the cook and his assistant and turned to walk out of the room.

Yugi didn't notice the spilled water and slipped. "Ah!" Yugi exclaimed in surprise.

Yami saw Yugi start to fall and reached out to grab the younger teen, but lost his balance, too, and fell forward, crashing on top of Yugi.

Heba and Jou fought not to laugh while Seth and Atemu smirked evilly at the two.

Yami rose up and had to fight the blush from coming to his face when he realized that he landed right on top of Yugi.

Yugi looked up and blushed lightly at the older boy being on top of him.

"I'm sorry, Yugi. I was trying to stop your fall. Guess I didn't do so well." Yami said as he got off of Yugi and helped Yugi up.

"Don't worry about it, Yami. It was accident, although I think someone should clean up the water so no one else falls." Yugi said.

Yami nodded and called a servant before the two continued with their work.

* * *

"A less than productive day?" Marik asked at the downcast looks Atemu, Heba, Seth, and Jou had.

"It could have been if Yami was a little more straight forward." Seth said.

"Dare I ask what happened?" Ryou asked.

"In short, I made Yugi slip and fall, Yami tried to catch him they both fell, and Yami wound up on top of Yugi." Heba said.

"How did Yami react to that?" Malik asked.

"Nothing. He just apologized and helped Yugi up. He had the perfect chance!" Atemu exclaimed.

"Well, maybe we should try to get Yugi to confess." Bakura said.

"It'll never work. My brother is way too shy. He couldn't do something like that." Heba said.

"Then what do you suggest?" Seth asked.

Marik smiled. "Leave that to me." Marik said.

"You have an idea?" Jou asked.

"Yeah, I do. Although I think that I'm going to need a little help from Bakura." Marik said.

Bakura grinned. "Sure. Anything you've got in mind is bound to be fun." Bakura said.

"Just don't hurt either of them. I really don't want Father yelling at me for something that you did." Atemu said. He grimaced and added, "That's happened too many times as it is."

Bakura and Marik smirked, and Marik said, "They won't get hurt."

* * *

Yugi was on a ladder trying to get some of the decorations ready.

"You do know that there are servants who can do this for you." Yami called up to him.

"Yugi glanced down and said, "I know, but I like doing things myself sometimes. Besides, I rather enjoy doing stuff like this."

"Why?" Yami asked.

"Well, it's my cousin's wedding, so I'd like to make sure that everything is right at his wedding party." Yugi replied, fixing the decoration.

Neither had noticed that there was a rope tied around the leg of the ladder.

Bakura and Marik smirked at each other. They had planned this carefully and were sure that they could at least get a reaction from the two so that they might start catching on to their feelings for each other.

"Shall we?" Bakura asked in a low voice.

"Oh, yes. Let's hope that this gets a reaction out of them." Marik said.

Ryou and Malik covered their eyes, not really wanting to watch what happened.

Together, Marik and Bakura gave the rope a harsh tug.

The ladder Yugi was standing started to wobble.

"Ah!" Yugi cried out.

Yami looked up and his eyes widened in horror. "Yugi!" Yami exclaimed.

The ladder fell, and Yugi went with it.

Yami ran, hoping to catch Yugi. Yugi fell into Yami's chest and knocked Yami back against the table. A bowl of water that had been sitting on the table was knocked over and soaked both boys to the bone.

Both sputtered and coughed to get the water out.

"Okay. That was wired." Yugi said.

"I swear that that ladder was stable and well-built." Yami said. It was then that Yami noticed how Yugi looked soaking wet and blushed slightly at the not-so-innocent thoughts that were currently going through his mind.

Yugi looked at Yami and blushed lightly at the sight of Yami's soaking wet skin. He had to force himself to stop blushing at the other thoughts that were going through his mind. "Sorry about that, Yami." Yugi said, getting off of him.

"It wasn't you're fault. I was the one who tried to catch you, although that didn't work out so well." Yami said as he stood up.

"Thanks, though. That would have hurt if you hadn't broken my fall." Yugi said.

"No problem, little one." Yami replied.

"We'd better get out of these wet clothes." Yugi stated.

"Good idea." Yami agreed.

The two left the dining room to go get themselves dry and in dry clothes.

* * *

"You made my brother fall off a ladder!" Heba shouted, angry.

Atemu grabbed his lover around the waist to hold him back from attacking Marik and Bakura who were currently cowering behind their own lovers.

"Well, he didn't get hurt." Bakura protested.

"That's not the point! He could have been if Yami hadn't reacted so fast!" Heba shouted.

"Heba, calm down!" Atemu exclaimed. He looked at Bakura and Marik and siad, "No more schemes that involve longs falls, you two. We want to get them together so that neither winds up in the healing chambers as a result." Atemu said.

"You would have thought the added water effect would have done something." Malik said.

"Water effect?" Jou said.

"What water effect?" Seth asked.

"Oh. Well, when Yami tried to catch Yugi, Yugi crashed into his chest and knocked Yami backwards into the table behind him. The bowl of water sitting on the table was knocked over and soaked them both." Bakura said.

"You could see the thoughts going through Yami's mind." Marik said, smirking.

"Didn't do anything, though. They're both being very stubborn." Ryou said.

"Well, whose got a another plan?" Atemu asked.

"Leave it to me. I'll come up with something." Seth said.

* * *

The day of Ryou and Bakura's wedding had come.

Ryou paced back and forth in Yugi's room nervously.

"Ryou, sit down. You're making me dizzy." Yugi said.

"I'm sorry, Yugi, but I'm a little nervous. You know I'm not fond of attention, and all eyes will be on me." Ryou said.

Yugi smiled. "Ryou, do you love Bakura?" Yugi asked.

Ryou smiled dreamily. "Very much so." Ryou replied.

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with him?" Yugi asked.

"More than anything." Ryou said.

"And you don't have any second thoughts about marrying him?" Yugi asked.

"Not one. I've been dreaming about this day for too long." Ryou said, finally sitting in a chair.

Yugi put his hand under his cousin's chin and forced Ryou to look him in the eyes. "Then don't worry about anything. This is your day with Bakura. Concentrate solely on Bakura. I'm sure that you'll be fine as long as you keep your focus on Bakura." Yugi said.

"Do you really think that it'll help, Yugi?" Ryou asked.

Yugi smiled. "Ryou, the second you see Bakura, I have a feeling that you won't have a care in the world. You won't even realize that there are other people watching." Yugi said.

Ryou smiled. "You're right, Yugi. Thanks for reminding me of that." Ryou said.

"Any time. Now, I think that we had better get you ready for your wedding. Bakura's probable anxious enough as it is without you being late." Yugi said.

Ryou smiled. "Yeah. You're right." Ryou said.

Yugi helped Ryou start to get ready for his wedding.

* * *

Bakura paced his room in frustration. "Why did it have to wait until the after noon until the wedding? I can't even see Ryou until then!" Bakura explained.

"Calm down, Bakura. You just have to wait this long. After that, you'll have the rest of your life to have with Ryou." Atemu said.

Bakura smirked. "Jealous?" Bakura teased.

"Of you're already getting married, no. Of the small wedding, yes." Atemu replied.

"Yeah. Yours will be the fun wedding." Seth said.

"Shut up, Seth!" Atemu said.

"By the way, where's Yami at?" Marik asked.

"He's with father talking. I think Father's making sure every little detail has been carried out right." Atemu replied.

"Any other matchmaking schemes?" Bakura asked.

"No. We decided that we wouldn't pull anything today. We'll start back tomorrow." Atemu replied.

"Don't expect any help from Ryou or me." Bakura said.

"No one will see you until tomorrow afternoon. Either of you, and that's if Ryou can walk." Marik said.

"Which is why you're on your own then." Bakura said, smirking.

* * *

"There. You're ready." Yugi said, stepping back.

"Um, do I look all right, Yugi?" Ryou asked nervously.

"You look great. Bakura's probably going to have trouble controlling himself. Not that he has much self-control as it is." Yugi said.

Ryou smiled at his younger cousin. He was dressed in a white tunic dressed with gold woven throughout it. He wore golden bracelets on his wrists and there were earrings of the House of Ra symbol handing form his ears. There was also a golden ring around his head with a topaz gem in it. He also wore his engagement ring from Bakura. His eyes were lined in the ceremonial kohl.

"Are you ready, Ryou?" Yugi asked.

"As ready as I'm going to be.' Ryou said.

There was a knock on the door, and Yugi went to answer it. He found Heba, Jou, and Malik outside.

"Is Ryou ready?" Jou asked.

"Yes, I am." Ryou replied, appearing in the doorway.

"Well, it's time. Come on." Heba said.

Ryou was hesitant.

"Ryou, you okay?" Malik asked.

Yugi reached out and grabbed Ryou by the hand. "Come on, Ryou. You're not going to back out on me now. Just remember what I told you, and you'll be fine." Yugi said.

Ryou nodded and smiled. "Right. Thanks, Yugi." Looking at the rest, Ryou said, "Let's go."

The five left the room.

* * *

Bakura was dressed in a tanned tunic with a long skirt that came to his ankles. He had a red coat on over his arms. He was once more pacing.

"Bakura, will you stop pacing already? You're starting to make me dizzy." Atemu said.

"You're not the one who hasn't been able to see your lover for the entire day!" Bakura snapped.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Bakura. The wedding will be starting soon, so you don't have to wait much longer." Seth said.

Marik smirked. "All you really want is to get to your wedding night." Marik said.

Bakura glared. "So what if I do?" Bakura said.

Atemu shook his head. "You're hopeless." Atemu said.

There was a knock on the door.

Marik opened it to find Yami outside.

"What do you want?" Bakura said, beyond irritated.

"What's wrong with you?" Yami asked.

"He's irritated because he hasn't been able to see Ryou all day." Seth explained.

"Well, you can calm down now. Father told me to come and get you. It's time." Yami said.

"Finally." Bakura said, stalking out of the room.

"This should be interesting." Atemu said.

"Come on. I'd hate for Father to start yelling at us." Yami said.

Yami, Seth, Marik, and Atemu followed Bakura.

* * *

The gardens were filled with people who were close to Ryou and Bakura.

Ryou and Bakura had decided that they would prefer to have their wedding in the palace gardens since that is where they spent a great deal of their time together.

Mahado, as the head priest, stood with Bakura at the center as they waited.

Soon, Yugi, Heba, Jou, and Malik made their way to their places.

It wasn't long before Ryou made his appearance, signaling the start of the wedding.

Once Ryou and Bakura set their eyes on each other, everything else seemed to disappear.

Yugi smiled when he saw the look on Ryou's face. 'I told him he wouldn't worry when he saw Bakura.' Yugi thought, glad that his cousin was happy.

Ryou joined Bakura at the center of the gardens.

Mahado started the ceremony. "We are gathered here today to join Bakura and Ryou in marriage." He turned to Bakura. "Bakura, do you promise to love and honor Ryou, to provide for him as long as you live?" Mahado asked.

"Yes, I do." Bakura said.

Mahado turned to Ryou. "Ryou, do you promise to love and honor Bakura, to support him as long as you live?" Mahado asked.

"Yes, I do." Ryou replied.

"Then with the blessings of Ra, you are now married." Mahado said.

As was customary of weddings, Ryou and Bakura kissed chastely.

* * *

After the ceremony, everyone headed to the dining hall to celebrate with new married couple.

There was food, music, dancing, and socializing with everyone.

Ryou came up to Yugi and said, "Thank you for everything, Yugi."

"I didn't do anything, Ryou." Yugi said.

"Yes, you did. You made this place look incredible, and you calmed my nerves earlier. I honestly don't know what I would have done without." Ryou said.

"Just glad that I could help." Yugi said.

Bakura came up and said, "Come on, Ryou."

Before Ryou could respond, Bakura grabbed Ryou by the hand and dragged him off.

Yugi smiled as he watched Ryou and Bakura dance together as their first dance as husbands.

Bakura and Ryou weren't the only ones out dancing. Atemu and Heba were also dancing. Seth and Jou were dancing, too. Marik and Malik were dancing as well.

"Enjoying yourself?" Yami asked, coming up beside Yugi.

"Yes. I'm just real happy for all of them. I'm glad that they all found someone who loves them and will look out for them." Yugi said.

"I'm glad they did, too. I wondered if they ever would." Yami said.

Yugi smiled as they watched the couples.

"Yugi, do you want to dance?" Yami asked.

"Sure." Yugi said, thinking it was nothing more than friendly dance.

* * *

Heba and Atemu noticed that Yami and Yugi were dancing together.

"I wonder if one of them said something." Atemu said.

"No." Heba said.

Atemu looked down at him. "You sure?" Atemu asked.

Heba nodded. "I can sense it. Yugi thinks its a friendly dance." Heba said.

"Well, I guess we look for other ways to get them together." Atemu said.

"I just hope that we find a way to get them together before we all go crazy." Heba said.

Atemu laughed as they kept dancing.

The party continued for several hours afterwards in celebration of Ryou and Bakura's marriage.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 11. Sorry about teh short wedding scene but I wasn't real sure about how to go about an ancient Egyptian wedding.

I decided to do the three weddings in three separate chapters.

Seth and Jou's wedding will be next along with more matchmaking attempts between Yugi and Yami.

R&R.


	12. Chapter 12

* * *

Chapter 12

"Okay. So, how do we get Yami and Yugi together?" Heba asked.

"Well, Seth's idea didn't exactly work out." Malik said, glaring.

"Okay. IT was an accident." Seth said.

"Accident? You're idea was to get Yugi into some kind of trouble that Yami got him out of which resulted in Yugi and Yami both falling off the balcony. Thankfully, Yugi used his shields, which stopped either of them from getting hurt!" Heba exclaimed.

Atemu put a hand on Heba's shoulder to try and calm him down. "Okay. Let's come up with an idea that won't involve either one of them getting hurt." Atemu said.

"Well, I might have an idea." Ryou said.

All eyes turned to Ryou. "You?" everyone said, surprises.

Ryou nodded. "I think that I know an easier way. To get them together." Ryou said.

* * *

In the weeks since Ryou and Bakura's marriage, Yugi and Yami had become very close friends although they were just friends and everyone knew it.

Yugi and Yami were currently walking through the gardens.

Yami started laughing and said, "You have got to be kidding."

"No. Heba, Jou, and Malik thought it'd be funny to scare me with a snake. AT the time, I was deathly afraid of snakes." Yugi said.

"What did you do?" Yami asked.

"Quite honestly, started screaming. They were dying laughing until the snake bit me. Turned out that it was a poisonous snake." Yugi said.

"I guess they were not so thrilled then." Yami said.

"No, they weren't. I think my father yelled so loud that everyone in the house knew what had happened." Yugi said.

"What ended up happening to them?" Yami asked.

"They were grounded for several weeks, and they apologized to me so many times I finally told them that if they said one more apology to me, I would send the one who did crashing into the wall." Yugi said.

"You threatened them?" Yami asked.

Yugi nodded. "After about a thousand apologies, you'd be ready to threaten them, too." Yugi said.

"Probably." Yami agreed.

Yugi looked at the fountain and smiled slightly.

"Something on your mind?" Yami asked.

"Oh. I was just thinking about when we were kids again. You'd be surprised at the number of times those three pulled pranks that ended up with someone ending up soaking wet." Yugi said.

"Actually, I would. I have been on the receiving end of several of their pranks, and if it wasn't for the fact that they were with my brother, my cousin, and my friend, I probably would have strangled the life out of them. I don't exactly like becoming soaking wet when I'm fully clothes." Yami said.

"Yugi!" a female voice suddenly yelled.

Both jumped backwards and bumped into the edge of the fountain, sending them both falling into the fountain.

Yami growled. "I'm going to have to kill someone." Yami said, pushing his soaking wet bangs out of his eyes.

Yugi looked and saw Mana, Mahado's new magician-in-training, looking at them, blushing. "Sorry, Yugi. Sorry, Prince Yami." Mana said apologized as the two young boys got out of the fountain.

Yugi, who had become friends with Mana, said, "What did you need, Mana?"

"Master Mahado was wanting to speak with you concerning Priest Seth's wedding." Mana explained.

"All right. Where is he?" Yugi asked.

"In his study." Mana replied.

"Okay. Go tell Mahado that I will be there as soon as I get into some dry clothes." Yugi said.

Mana nodded and skipped off.

"Perky much." Yami muttered.

Yugi smiled. "She's always like that Yami. I think we'd both better go get into some dry clothes."

Yami nodded his agreement, and the two headed back into the palace.

* * *

When Yami got to his room, he found Bakura and Marik at his door.

"What are you two doing?" Yami asked.

Both jumped and whirled around to face Yami, startled.

"We were looking for you." Bakura siad.

Marik looked at Yami's state and said, "What happened to you?"

"Yugi and I were talking by the fountain, and Mahado's new student scared us both so much that we fell into the fountain." Yami replied as he opened his door and walked in.

Marik and Bakura followed, intrigued.

"Why were you and Yugi in the garden?" Bakura asked.

"We were just talking. All of you have lovers that you second a great deal of time with, so Yugi and I have become friends considering none of you have that much time for us anymore." Yami replied as he got a dry pair of clothes and went into the bathroom to change.

Bakura and Marik glanced at each other.

"Think it's anything more?" Bakura mouthed.

"No idea." Marik replied, also mouthing.

Yami came out ad said, "What are you two still doing here?"

"Just wondering if you were meeting up with Yugi again." Marik said.

"Nope. Mana came to tell Yugi that Mahado wanted to talk to her about Seth and Jou's wedding. After he gets into dry clothes, he'll be going to Mahado's study to talk to him." Yami replied. It was then that Yami noticed a piece of paper on the table. "What's this?" Yami asked picking up the paper.

"No idea." Bakura replied.

"Isn't it yours?" Marik asked.

"No." Yami replied.

"Well, why don't you read it and find out what it says?" Bakura asked.

Yami glanced at him, but unfolded the letter to read it.

_Yami,_

_Meet me in the gardens as Ra sets. There's something I want to tell you._

_Your Secret Admirer_

"How? You've got an admirer." Bakura said.

"Yeah. What else is new? I have all kinds of admirers" Yami replied.

"Are you going to meet this person?" Marik asked.

"No. I never have before." Yami replied.

"Why not? This one isn't like the others you've gotten. The others were mushy and full of vows of love. This is just s simple request to meet them." Bakura said.

Yami glared. "Why should I? This one just wants to say all that in person." Yami said.

"So what? If you don't like what they say or do, just have them arrested. It's not going to kill you to meet this person." Bakura said.

"Why are you two so set on me meeting whoever sent this?" Yami asked.

"No reason, but you should. Who knows. You might find love in the process." Marik said.

"Not likely. I might go. I don't know." Yami said.

Marik and Bakura had to be satisfied with that answer since they knew that Yami wouldn't say yes or no.

* * *

Yugi looked in shock at the crystal figurine that Mahado had shown him. "Mahado, you want me to honestly tell you what Jou would think of this, right?" Yugi asked.

"Yes." Mahado replied.

"Okay. If you have this at the wedding party, I can assure you that Jou will use his magic to blow it up." Yugi said.

"Do you think he will not like it?" Isis asked.

"Isis, I know that Jou will not like it. I'm not sure about Seth, but Jou will destroy it." Yugi said.

"Well, we'll have to figure something out." Isis said.

"Can I assume that Seth and Jou's wedding is going to be a little more fancy than Bakura and Ryou's was?" Yugi asked.

"Yes. Whether Seth likes it or not, the Pharaoh has decided that his wedding be a little fancier since Seth is his nephew." Mahado explained.

"I see. Should I take over the reception, too, since I see them both on a daily basis?" Yugi asked.

"Do you mind terribly?" Isis asked.

"What needs to be done?" Yugi asked.

"Everything." the couple said.

"Everything?" Yugi questioned.

"Everything." they repeated, handing Yugi a piece of paper.

Yugi looked the list over. "How long do I have to get this all done?" Yugi asked.

"Four days." Mahado said.

"Okay. I'll see what I can do." Yugi said before leaving the room. He rubbed his head. "I think that I'm too nice." Yugi muttered.

"Any reason you're saying that, little one?" Yami asked, walking up to him.

"Well, in shirt, I have four days to get the wedding party for Jou and Seth's wedding together, and this is all I have to do." Yugi said, handing Yami the paper.

Yami's eyes widened and he said, "You agreed to do this?"

"Mahado and Isis don't have a clue what do for them, so I'm doing it." Yugi said.

"How are you going to do all this in a matter of four days?" Yami asked.

"I have no idea." Yugi replied. He glanced at Yami and saw a frown on Yami's face. "Something wrong, Yami?" Yugi asked.

"I think you have enough on your mind without worrying about me." Yami said.

"Come on. What's up?" Yugi asked.

Yami took out the note he had gotten and handed it to him.

Yugi read it and said, "An admirer. I'm sure that it's not the first one."

"Nope. Marik and Bakura were in my room when I found the note, and they tried to convince me to go and meet this person. I'm not so sure." Yami said.

"Why not?" Yugi asked.

"Every time I've had an admirer, it turned out to be someone who wanted the power and wealth and luxury that came along with being my spouse." Yami said.

"You're afraid that this person will be the exact same way." Yugi said.

Yami nodded as the two walked down the hall.

"What if this person doesn't want to be with you because of those things?" Yugi asked.

"There have been a few that didn't want those things." Yami said.

"See." Yugi said.

"They wanted my body. It was lust." Yami said.

"I see." Yugi said.

"I just don't want a relationship that a person is trying to get the title or my body." Yami said.

"And what if this person actually loves you?" Yugi asked.

"I'd like that, but I just don't see that happening any time soon." Yami said.

"You don't take a very high view of love, do you?" Yugi asked.

"If I seem against it, I'm sorry, but I've never had a good experience in that department." Yami replied.

"Well, I'm sure that you'll find someone, Yami." Yugi said.

"Thanks, little one." Yami replied. 'I just wish that it was you.' Yami thought, glancing down at the younger boy.

* * *

Yugi had already started on getting the plans for the wedding party together. He still had a long way to go, though.

Yugi decided to go to his room to lay down for a little while since he was so tired. He was surprised to find Ryou and Malik at his door. "What are you two doing?" Yugi asked.

Both teens jumped and turned around to face Yugi.

"Hi, Yugi. We were looking for you actually. We knocked on your door, but you weren't in there, so we were about to leave." Ryou said.

Yugi sighed and opened the door, going into his room.

Ryou and Malik followed him.

"Yugi, are you okay?" Malik asked.

"Yeah. I'm just tired." Yugi replied.

"Tired? Why?" Ryou asked.

"Mahado and Isis asked me if I would handle the plans for the wedding party for Jou and Seth's wedding." Yugi explained.

"Yugi, that's in four days!" Malik exclaimed.

"I know. I'll be fine." Yugi insisted.

"You don't look it. You look like you could go to sleep and sleep for an entire day." Malik said.

"I could." Yugi said, lying down on the bed.

Both looked at each other.

Malik picked up a note on the table and said, "Yugi, what's this?"

Yugi looked and saw the paper that Malik was holding. He sat up and said, "I don't know. I haven't seen it before."

"Here. It might be important." Malik said, handing the paper to Yugi.

Yugi took it and unfolded the paper to read it.

_Yugi,_

_I'd like you to meet me in the gardens as Ra sets. I want to talk to you about something._

_Your Secret Admirer_

"Wow, Yugi. You've got an admirer." Ryou said.

Yugi frowned. "I wonder who." he murmured.

"Well, the only way to find out is to meet them." Malik said.

"I don't know. I can't think of anyone who might like me." Yugi said.

"Come on, Yugi. What's the harm? You'll meet the person, and if you don't like them, that will be the end if it." Ryou said.

Yugi sighed. "I might go. I guess it'll depend on how tired I am." Yugi said.

"That's the spirit. I'm sure that you won't regret it." Malik said.

"Yeah. I guess." Yugi said. 'I wish that Yami was the one sent this note, but chances that he has any interest in me other than friendship isn't likely.' Yugi thought.

* * *

Yami stood in the gardens as Ra was beginning to set. 'Well, this is the time that that note said, so where is this person?' Yami asked himself. Sighing, Yami sat down on the edge of the fountain. 'I really wish that this person was Yugi. I'd like for it to be him.' Yami thought.

"Yami, what are you doing here?" Yugi suddenly asked.

Yami looked up, surprised to find Yugi in the gardens as well. "I could ask you the same question, little one." Yami replied.

"I got a note asking me to meet someone here. They said they were my secret admirer." Yugi said, showing Yami the note.

Yami looked at it and said, "Hold on. That's Bakura's handwriting!" Yami exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Yugi asked.

Yami nodded. He took out the note he had been given. "But he didn't write this one." Yami said.

Yugi took a closer look at the note than he did earlier. "Hey," Yugi said, taking the note form Yami, "that's Ryou's handwriting."

Yami frowned. "Now that I think about it, Marik and Bakura were outside my room earlier today." Yami said.

"Malik and Ryou were outside my door, too." Yugi said.

"Oh, that does it! I'm killing Bakura and Marik! This kind of practical joke isn't something that I find funny." Yami said angrily.

Yugi sighed. "It's not like Ryou, but I can see Bakura talking him into it." Yugi said.

Yami shook his head. "This is one practical joke that really backfired." Yami said.

"In any case, I'm rather glad it was." Yugi said.

"Why's that?" Yami asked.

"Well, most people who end up liking me is because they think I'm cute." Yugi said.

"Yeah. At least we don't have that problem." Yami agreed.

* * *

"That was a smart idea, Ryou. Giving them notes to meet up was an excellent idea." Heba said.

"I told you so. It's just going to take a little more subtlety." Ryou said.

"Still. I would have liked to done something a little more devious." Bakura said.

Malik rolled his eyes. "At least this one didn't put them in danger." Malik said.

The door to the study opened, and Yami and Yugi walked in.

"Hey, you two. What's up?" Atemu asked.

"Bakura, could I ask you a question?" Yami asked.

"Sure. What is it?" Bakura replied.

Yami grabbed Bakura by his tunic and pulled him forward so that they were almost nose-to-nose. "Why in the name of Ra did you pull that practical joke?!" Yami nearly shouted.

"P-practical j-joke." Bakura stuttered.

"You know, the one with the fake secret admirers' letters. That was beyond low, Bakura. You and Marik don't usually sink to that kind of level." Yami said.

"I can't believe you did that, Ryou." Yugi said.

"Yugi, I-" Ryou started.

"Next time you all team up to pull a joke, leave us out of it!" Yami shouted before letting go of Bakura and storming out.

"He's' right. Pull pranks if you want, but don't pull those types that play with people's emotions." Yugi said before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

The group was silent for a moment.

"I believe that's another strike." Seth said.

Atemu sighed. "What is it going to take to get them to admit what they feel for each other?" Atemu asked.

"Us directly telling them that they love each other." Jou siad.

"They'd never believe it." Heba said.

"Well, let's concentrate on the wedding and pick this back up afterwards." Heba said.

* * *

Jou stood dressed in his tanned tunic dress that reached his ankles. He had triangular shaped earrings and golden bracelets on.

"You're not nervous at all." Yugi stated.

"Nope. I can't wait to be married to Seth." Jou replied.

Ryou smiled. "Yugi had to calm me down. I had the jitters bad." Ryou said.

"Yours was the fact that you don't like being the center of attention." Yugi said.

"True." Ryou agreed.

"I'm glad that we're going to be married. I've been dreaming about this for over a year." Jou said.

"Well, you'll be married soon, so you can be a little less cheerful about it." Malik said.

"Yeah. Looks like you're next, Heba." Jou said.

"Let's get through yours first." Heba replied.

* * *

Seth sat calmly in his room in a chair dressed in his usual priest clothes, only a little fancier.

"How are you so calm? Are you not nervous, anxious, or frustrated?" Atemu asked.

"No. I can't wait to get married to Jou, but I do know that it'll happen in time." Seth said.

"I couldn't take the wait. I wanted to get married as soon as possible." Bakura said.

"You would have gotten married as soon as you woke up if the Pharaoh would have let you." Marik stated.

"You've got that right." Bakura agreed.

"Just wish Yami was a little more festive." Atemu said.

"Yeah. He's still pissed at us." Bakura said.

"Well, do you blame him? You made him feel like you were joking. We should have gotten someone to write them that they wouldn't have recognized." Seth said.

"Don't worry about it today, Seth. This is your day with Jou. We'll deal with that later." Atemu said.

There was a knock on the door, and Bakura answered it.

"Father says its time." Yami said.

They all left the room with Seth in the lead.

* * *

Mahado stood at the foot of the throne with Seth standing near him.

Aknankanon, Yami, and Atemu were with him.

Yugi, Heba, Ryou, and Malik were standing in the crowd.

Bakura was with the other priests.

"We are gathered here to join Seth and Jou together in marriage." Mahado said. He turned to Seth and said, "Seth, do you promise to love and honor, Jou, to love him and stay with him and provide for him until death?"

"Yes, I do." Seth replied.

Mahado turned to Jou. "Jou, do you promise to love and honor, Seth, to love him and stay with him and support him until death?' Mahado asked.

"Yes, I do." Jou replied.

"Then with the blessings of Ra, you are now married." Mahado said.

Seth and Jou kissed to seal the marriage.

* * *

Yugi and Yami stood together, watching Seth and Jou dance together.

"They really do look good together, although I never thought Seth would marry." Yami said.

"That's because he never found anyone who could last in an argument with him the way Jou can." Yugi replied.

"Point taken." Yami agreed.

"Well, one more wedding." Yugi said.

Yami looked down at him and smiled. "You did well with the wedding party, though. Father might ask you to help." Yami said.

Yugi groaned. "Please do not joke about something like that." Yugi said.

Yami laughed. "Do you want to dance?" Yami asked.

"Sure." Yugi replied.

Yugi and Yami went out and danced together.

* * *

Atemu, Heba, Ryou, and Bakura watched Yugi and Yami dance together.

"They do look good together." Atemu said.

"Yeah, they do. I just hope that we can find a way to get them to actually get them together." Heba said.

"Well, we have to find a way. Yami doesn't pay much attention during the meetings, and Aknankanon's bound to notice and get ticked at him." Bakura said.

"Well, we'll get to work on that tomorrow." Ryou said.

Heba watched as his brother danced with Yami. 'You and Yami are perfect for each other, Yugi. We just have to get you to see that.' Heba thought.

Atemu took Heba's hand and said, "Come on, Heba. Let's dance. We can worry about our brothers tomorrow." Atemu said.

Heba nodded and went out to dance.

"Let's go, Bakura. I want to dance." Ryou said.

Bakura nodded, and he and Ryou went out to dance as well.

* * *

That's Chapter 12. I hope you liked it. I thought a less dangerous matchmaking scheme was in order.

Atemu and Heba's wedding will be next along with a few more matchmaking schemes.

R&R.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Okay. Every plan we have come up with to get Yami and Yugi together has backfired. What do we do now?" Atemu asked.

"I still think that we should just tell them upfront that they are in love with each other and let them take it over from there." Jou said.

"Maybe, but would it really work?" Heba asked.

"Good point. There's a chance that they wouldn't believe, even coming from us." Seth agreed.

"Well, we have to come up with something. This is starting to get annoying. Yami always has that dreamy look on his face, and we all know that it's Yugi he's thinking about. I think that Aknankanon is starting to notice that Yami doesn't listen to anything during meetings. If we don't get them together soon, I think Aknankanon will start yelling at him." Bakura said.

"What do you suggest?" Marik asked.

"Lock them in a room 'til they confess all." Bakura said.

"Bakura, that's downright cruel!" Ryou exclaimed.

"Well, nothing else is working. Everything that we have come up with has failed miserably." Bakura said.

"They are both way too stubborn." Marik said.

Malik leaned against Marik and said, "Yugi's probable isn't stubbornness. He's just too shy to admit his feelings to him, and he's a little naïve so he probably hasn't even realized that Yami likes him."

"Yugi hasn't realized because Yami is a master at hiding his feelings. Whenever Yami is aground Yugi, he acts like there is nothing wrong or different between them. It's when Yugi's not around that anyone could see it, or when Yugi's not paying attention to Yami, he gets that look. Of course, he hides it as soon as Yugi starts paying attention to him again." Seth said.

Atemu tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we won't have to try to pull anything else." Atemu said.

"Why's that?" Jou asked.

"Well, with Heba's and my wedding coming up, Father has invited princesses and princes from other countries for this. There will probably be more than one person that comes onto Yami, and I highly doubt that Yugi will go unnoticed." Atemu explained.

"You think that one of them will get jealous enough to actually say something to the other." Heba said.

"That's the idea." Atemu said.

"If anyone got jealous, it would have to be Yami. I mean, we all know that Yami has a bit of a possessive nature about him. If he sees someone coming onto Yugi, I have a feeling that it would not end well." Marik said.

"He's right. If I know Yami, he'd pull that person aside and threaten them for it." Seth agreed.

"When will that start getting here?" Heba asked.

"A few days before the wedding." Atemu replied.

"So that's what you've been up to." a new voice said.

Everyone jumped and whirled around to find Aknankanon in the doorway. No one had even heard the door open or close.

"You have been spending the last few months trying to get Yugi and Yami together. I wondered why the pranks had stopped." Aknankanon said.

"Father, don't be angry. It's just that they like each other and won't admit it." Atemu said.

"And you all thought that you would help them out in that area." Aknankanon said.

"We weren't trying to be cruel or anything." Malik said.

"I know, but something does make sense. There were a few accidents during the time that Yugi and Yami were setting up the wedding party for Ryou and Bakura's wedding. Can I assume that was all of you?" Aknankanon asked.

They nodded.

"And the balcony fall?" Aknankanon prodded.

Again, they all nodded.

"And the secret admirer letters?" Aknankanon asked.

A third time, they nodded.

"I see. I don't like you meddling in other people's love lives. Not to mention that they all could have ended up hurting them." Aknankanon said.

"We never meant for them to get hurt. We were just trying to put them into awkward positions that they would confess all." Seth said.

"I know. Tell me. Is this why Yami has been in his own world lately?" Aknankanon asked.

"You noticed?" Marik asked.

"Yes. It's hard to miss that dreamy look. I thought he had found someone he liked, but I did not think that it was Yugi." Aknankanon said.

"It is, and he's about to drive us crazy. They both are." Atemu said.

"Yugi's too shy, and Yami's too stubborn." Jou said.

"Fine. You can try to get them together, but don't don anything hat will hurt them anymore, physically or emotionally." Aknankanon said.

"We won't." Heba said.

"We didn't mean to hurt them with the letters. We thought they'd see each other in the gardens and think the other sent the letter and they'd admit it." Ryou said.

"How did you find out, anyway?" Bakura asked.

"Yami was ranting about it. He was rather upset that you had pulled such a stunt." Aknankanon said.

"I suppose he had a right to be upset. We were wrong in how we went about it." Atemu said.

"What do you have planned now?" Aknankanon asked.

"Well, with the visiting princes and princesses coming, both of them are liable to have someone coming onto them." Atemu said.

"I see. You hope to spark jealousy in them." Aknankanon said.

They nodded.

"Well, just don't interfere. You should let things take their course in this one." Aknankanon said before leaving.

"Was he saying to stop?" Bakura asked.

"No. He said that we should let Yugi and Yami work out their issued on their own, but that he wouldn't say anything if we do interfere." Atemu replied.

"Well, let's see where this jealously thing ends up. That we have to let happen on its own." Heba said.

"Then we have time to think up good ones." Bakura siad.

"Although I think we need to keep Bakura's idea of locking them in a room in mind for later." Malik said.

* * *

Yugi was walking down the hall when he bumped into Yami.

"Sorry, Yami." Yugi said.

"It's no problem, little one." Yami replied. He looked at Yugi and saw his stressed features. "Something wrong? You looked stressed." Yami said.

"I am stressed out. Your father asked me to handle the plans for the wedding party since he was handling the plans for the wedding itself." Yugi replied.

"Yugi, you've handled the wedding party plans for all three of the weddings!" Yami exclaimed.

"Yes, and since your brother is the Crown Prince, these plans are lot more extravagant. It's taking a lot more time, especially with visiting guests." Yugi said.

"You shouldn't have to handle the plans for all three weddings. I thought that Father would have had Mahado and Isis handle that." Yami said.

"Well, before he left, my grandfather told the Pharaoh that I would help him with the plans." Yugi said.

"So, your grandfather set you up with this headache." Yami said.

"Exactly." Yugi replied, rubbing his head.

Yami frowned. He didn't like to see his little one so stressed out, and he knew that Yugi was working himself too hard. Yami took Yugi's hand and said, "Come with me."

Yugi blinked, blushing slightly at Yami holding his hand. "I still have work that I need to do on the wedding party. It's nowhere near ready." Yugi protested.

"Yugi, you have worked too hard on all three weddings, and everything has been perfect. You need a break." Yami said.

Before Yugi could voice another protest, Yami dragged him down the hall and out of the palace.

"Yami, where are we going?" Yugi asked.

"You'll see." Yami replied, smiling mysteriously.

* * *

Aknankanon was walking through the palace, searching for Yugi. He noticed Heba and said, "Heba, have you seen Yugi?"

"No. I haven't seen him since breakfast this morning." Heba replied.

"I was wanting to discuss some of the wedding party plans with him." Aknankanon said.

Heba frowned. "Is Yugi over them?" Heba asked.

"Yes. I asked him if he would handle." Aknankanon replied.

'Yugi's done the wedding party plans for all three of us. He has to be wore off.' Heba thought.

"Heba, if you see Yugi, will you tell him that I want to see him?" Aknankanon asked.

"Of course." Heba replied.

"Thank you." Aknankanon replied before walking off.

Heba sighed. "I'd better get the others. Maybe we can find him if we search together." Heba said, gong off to find them.

* * *

Yugi giggled as Yami pulled him along since Yami had blindfolded Yugi. "Yami, where are we going?" Yugi asked.

"You'll see. We're almost there." Yami replied.

Yugi felt Yami stop him. He sensed Yami move behind him and remove the blindfold. Yugi was startled to find himself in a beautiful oasis. "Yami, where is this?" Yugi asked, looking around in awe.

Yami smiled, glad that he had been able to make Yugi smile. "This is an oasis that Atemu, Seth, and I found about five years ago. We were just playing around when we stumbled across it. We decided to keep it a secret and come here when we needed to get some away from the hustle and bustle of the palace." Yami explained.

"Then why did you being me here? It sounds like family thing." Yugi said.

"Not really. Marik and Bakura know about it, and I have a feeling that they have already shown Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik." Yami replied.

"Do you think they'd mind?" Yugi asked.

Yami laughed. "I doubt it. They know that you won't tell anyone about this place. We just like to come here when we need to relax away from the stress of palace life. Not like palace life is as grand and easy as everyone think it is." Yami said.

"I believe that." Yugi agreed.

"Just relax, Yugi. You need a break from all this wedding stuff. This is the third one that you've helped with, and I think you have earned yourself a break." Yami said.

Yugi smiled. "I don't mind. I do need a little break." Yugi said.

* * *

"Where could he be?" Atemu asked.

"Yugi isn't the type to disappear without warning. He'd tell someone at least." Heba said.

"He's right. He'd tell us in case we needed him for something." Malik agreed.

"It may not be like Yugi, but it sounds exactly like something that Yami would do." Seth said.

"What are you insinuating, Seth?" Atemu asked.

"This is the third wedding that Yugi had been roped into helping with. He has got to be tired, stressed out, and at the limit of his patience. If Yami saw that, he'd probably drag him off somewhere that he could actually relax and get some tension out." Seth explained.

"Where would he take him, though?" Ryou asked.

"The oasis." Atemu, Bakura, Marik, and Seth said at the same time.

"I thought you were only showing those that you married." Malik said.

"We're not married." Marik said in a suggestive tone.

"No, Marik. We're not getting married. I think three back-to-back is enough." Malik said.

"It's fine. Yugi's not going to tell anyone about it, and I think that it's the perfect way for Yugi to relax. He's not going to in the palace." Atemu said.

* * *

Yugi laughed as fell onto the ground.

Laughing, Yami lay down beside him. "I take it that you've enjoyed this." Yami said.

"Yeah. You were right. I did need to relax." Yugi said.

"That's the one thing that you couldn't do at the palace." Yami said.

"Speaking of which, I'd better get back. I do need to get back to work." Yugi said.

Yami sighed. "Well, at least you rested for a little while." Yami said.

"Thanks for doing this for me, Yami. I feel a lot better now." Yugi said.

"Anytime, little one." Yami replied.

* * *

Yami walked down the hall of the palace. He let out a sigh. 'I dread this wedding. All those princes and princess with be after me. I fear Yugi, too.' Yami thought. He felt his heart stop at the thought of Yugi finding someone there.

"Yami! Wait a minute!"

Yami stopped and turned to see Atemu running toward him.

"Where have you been today?" Atemu asked as they resumed walking.

"Nowhere. Why?" Yami asked.

"You disappeared around the same time that Yugi did." Atemu said.

"So we both had things to do." Yami retorted.

"You took him to the oasis." Atemu said under his breath.

"What makes you say that?" Yami asked.

Atemu smirked. "This is the third wedding party Yugi has had to plan. He's beyond stressed out and tired. You took him there to relax since people would be looking for him here at the palace." Atemu said.

"Yeah. I did. He needed it. Yugi was too exhausted to do much else." Yami said.

"I trust you swore him to secrecy." Atemu said.

"Of course I did. Yugi will keep the secret." Yami said.

"Good. It doesn't matter that he knows. I have a feeling Heba would have shown him eventually." Atemu said.

* * *

The guests had started to arrive at the palace for Atemu's wedding.

"Hello, Prince Yami." a feminine voice said.

Yami turned to find the Princess of Systern standing behind him. 'Here it comes.' Yami thought with dread. "Hello, Princess." Yami replied.

"I understand that you have no one to go to the wedding with." the Princess said.

"I have a role in the wedding for my brother." Yami replied.

"Oh." the Princess said, disappointed. She brightened and said, "Perhaps you and I could dance together at the wedding party." the Princess said.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I would prefer not." Yami replied.

"I was under the impression that you were unattached." the Princess said.

"I'm not, but I am not looking for someone at the moment." Yami replied. 'Someone please come get me.' Yami thought, knowing he couldn't offend the Princess.

The Princess latched onto his arm and batted her eyelashes. "Please. I think that we would look good together." the Princess said.

"Excuse me, Yami." a voice said.

Yami was thankful to see Yugi, but the Princess looked angry.

"What do you want?" the Princess snapped.

"Princess, I would advise you to be a little more respectful. Yugi is a member of the House of Ra." Yami said.

The Princess paled.

"Yami, the Pharaoh is looking for you." Yugi said.

"Okay, Yugi. Excuse me, Princess." Yami said, detaching himself from her. He grabbed Yugi and pulled him off. "Thank you for getting me away from her." Yami said.

"That wasn't my intention. Your father does want to see you." Yugi replied.

"I don't care. She's the first of many, so get me out of it if you can." Yami said.

"You've only had one. I've had three people come onto me." Yugi said.

"Three?!" Yami exclaimed.

Yugi nodded. "A princess, a prince, and a lord." Yugi replied.

"That's what I get for being unmarried." Yami muttered.

Yugi laughed. "I guess it's just something that we have to deal with." Yugi said.

Yami nodded and walked away from Yugi to find his father.

* * *

"Well, hello, cutie." a voice said.

Yugi turned to find himself facing someone who was obviously royalty. Yugi mentally sighed. "Yes. Can I help you?" Yugi asked.

"You sure are cute." the man said. He licked his lips and said, "You should come back with me to Mycenrius." the man said.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked.

"Prince Zeph of Mycenrius." the man replied. He looked Yugi up and down. "I could use someone like you as a pleasure slave back in Mycenrius."

Yugi became angry. "I am not a slave. I'm a member of the House of Ra, and my brother is marrying the Crown Prince." Yugi said.

Zeph grinned. "I don't care." he said, grabbing hold of Yugi's wrist.

"Let go of me." Yugi in a dangerous voice.

Zeph faltered. He had never seen such a fierce look on anyone's face before.

"I very much doubt that the Pharaoh would appreciate you speaking to me like that." Yugi said.

"No, I do not."

Zeph looked up to see Aknankanon standing with another man. Zeph paled, realizing he was in trouble.

"Zeph, what have I told you. I do not want you causing anymore trouble." the other man said.

"Yes, Father." Zeph said before walking off.

"I apologize, Lord Yugi." the King of Mycenrius said.

"It is not your fault, your majesty. You cannot be blamed for the actions of your son." Yugi said.

"If my son bothers you again, don't let him do anything to you." the King told him.

"I know how to defend myself." Yugi said.

"Good. My son has been known to force it on people." the King said before walking off.

"Yugi, are you all right?" Aknankanon asked.

"Yes. In truth, I would have used my magic if I could not have physically stopped him." Yugi said.

"Good." Aknankanon said before leaving.

Yugi shook his head. 'I'll be glad when everything gets back to normal." Yugi said.

* * *

Atemu stormed into his room and slammed the door shut.

Heba, who had been lying on the bed, jumped when he heard the door slam shut. He turned and looked wide-eyed at a fuming Atemu. "Atemu, what in the name of Ra is wrong with you?" Heba asked.

"I thought that with this being my wedding, all of the princesses and princes would get the message that I want nothing to do with them, but no! They are all still trying to seduce me!" Atemu practically shouted.

Heba sighed and walked over to his fuming fiancé and grabbed him by hands before forcing him to sit on the bed. "Atemu, calm down." Heba said.

"This is my wedding, and they all seem to think that its okay to try and seduce me. I am just sick and tired of everyone thinking that they can just come on to me." Atemu said.

Heba got behind Atemu on the bed and started to massage his shoulder's, knowing that it would usually calm him down.

It worked.

Atemu's muscles started to relax, and he leaned back against Heba.

"It doesn't matter what they try to do, Atemu. You know that you belong to me, and that no one else will ever take my place. As long as you know that, it shouldn't matter at all. Besides, its not like you have to do anything with them." Heba said.

"I know. It just irritates me that so many people think that they can just come on to me like that." Atemu said.

Heba smiled. "Stop worrying." Heba whispered before starting it kiss Atemu's neck.

Atemu closed his eyes and let out a low moan. "Heba, you know what this does to me." Atemu warned him.

"I know." Heba replied before continuing his actions.

Atemu growled before turning around and jump on Heba, knocking Heba backwards onto the bed. "You should know better than to tease me like that." Atemu said.

"Actually, this is the reaction I was hoping for." Heba said before he was kissed harshly by Atemu.

* * *

Yugi walked down the hall and let out a sigh.

Two princes and three princesses had come onto him, and it was getting on his nerves.

Yugi looked ahead and froze. He saw Yami kissing the Princess from Systern.

Yugi's eyes widened before he turned and ran off, unable to believe that Yami was kissing her.

* * *

That's Chapter 13. I know I said that Heba and Atemu's wedding would be in this chapter, but I thought that this would be a good place to stop.

Atemu and Heba will get married in the next chapter, and Yugi and Yami will get together.

R&R.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Yami couldn't believe that the Princess of Systern had kissed him. Recovering from his shock, Yami pushed her roughly, angry.

The Princess barely managed to stop herself from falling. She looked up at Yami putting. "What was that for?" she asked as if she had done nothing wrong.

"You know exactly what you did." Yami hissed.

The Princess noticed the anger and rage in his eyes and took a step back, afraid.

"I have blatantly told you that I do not like you, and yet, you kiss me anyway. That's what you did. Be thankful I only pushed you." Yami said.

"What do you mean?" the Princess asked fearfully.

"It doesn't matter. I do not like you, so I don't want you kissing me." Yami said.

"Why? What would it take to get you to like me?" the Princess demanded.

"Nothing. There is nothing that will make me like you. I do not like the company of women." Yami said.

"What are you saying?" the Princess asked.

"I'm saying that I'm like my brother in the fact that I prefer men, and I don't want you trying that again." Yami said before storming off.

* * *

Yugi sat down at the fountain in the gardens as he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

A few stray tears fell down his cheeks, which he wiped away. 'I thought that he liked me. The way Yami acted, I thought that maybe I had a chance, but I guess he doesn't like me like that.' Yugi thought as a few more tears fell.

"Yugi, are you all right?" a deep voice said.

Yugi looked up, thinking it was Yami, but found himself looking at Atemu instead. Yugi wiped his tears and said, "I'm fine, Atemu. Really."

Atemu sat down beside him. No, you're not. Why are you crying?" Atemu asked.

"I was just stupid. I thought something that needed up being a lie. I guess it just hurt a lot more than I thought." Yugi said.

"Yugi, what did you think?" Atemu asked, concerned. He hoped that no one had hurt him.

Yugi sniffed and looked up at his future brother-in-law. "I'm sure Heba told you that I like Yami a lot." Yugi said.

Atemu nodded. 'What did you do, Yami?" Atemu thought.

"He and I have been spending a lot of time together. The way he acted, I thought he liked me, too, but I guess he just doesn't feel that way about me." Yugi said.

Atemu frowned. He knew Yami liked Yugi, so why did Yugi think otherwise? "Yugi, what makes you think that Yami doesn't like you?" Atemu asked.

"I saw him in the hall just a little bit ago, and he was kissing the Princess of Systern. I thought he didn't like women, but I guess he does." Yugi said.

Atemu had to suppress a growl. 'Yami, you idiot! You had a chance with Yugi and you blew it. You're so dead!' Atemu thought. "Yugi, Heba's in our room. Why don't you go talk to him?" Atemu suggested.

Yugi smiled and said, "I think I will. Thanks, Atemu." He stood up and walked off.

Atemu stood up and went to find his brother. He was determined to knock some sense into his idiotic brother.

* * *

Yami walked down the hallway toward his room, still furious. He couldn't believe that the Princess Systern had dared to kiss him. 'She is the last person that I would have wanted to kiss me.' Yami thought. He let out a sigh as he neared his room. 'The person I would have liked to have kissed me was Yugi.' Yami thought as he reached his room.

"Yami!" Yami turned to see his brother coming toward him, looking angry. "Whatever it is, Atemu, I'm not in the mood to hear about all your pursuers." Yami said.

"You're going to make time. We need to talk." Atemu said.

Yami ignored his brother and opened his door going in.

Not willing to be ignored, Atemu forced his way into the room, shut the door, grabbed Yami by his tunic, and slammed him against the wall.

"Atemu, what's gotten into you?!" Yami exclaimed, shocked and a little afraid.

"What's gotten into me?! I should be asking you the exact same question. Are you crazy?" Atemu demanded.

Yami blinked, lost. "What are you talking about?" Yami asked.

"I thought that you were in love with Yugi." Atemu said.

"I am." Yami retorted.

"Then why were you kissing the Princess of Systern?!"" Atemu demanded.

Yami's eyes widened. "Hoe did you find out about that? It just happened." Yami said.

"Someone told me. Now, you'd better have a good excuse for that." Atemu said.

"Atemu, I didn't kiss her. She kissed me. It took me a moment to recover from my shock." Yami said, pushing here away.

"You didn't kiss her?" Atemu questioned, not sure if he should believe it.

Yami glared at him. "Atemu, remember when you first got together with Heba, and Anzu kissed you?" Yami asked.

"Of course I remember." Atemu replied, shuddering at the memory of Anzu kissing him.

"That's exactly what happened to me. I don't like that girl at all. She reminds me of Anzu too much." Yami said.

"Yami, you better what it, or you might lose any chance with Yugi." Atemu said.

Yami sighed. "Atemu, I doubt I have any chance. There have been a lot of people to come onto him already." Yami said.

"You never know. I thought that there was a chance Heba wouldn't like me, but look where I am. I'll be marrying him tomorrow." Atemu said.

"You think I do have a chance.?" Yami asked.

"Yes, I do. You just need to tell him the truth." Atemu said. He thought a moment and then added, "Preferably before someone else does get him."

Yami nodded, knowing that his brother was right.

* * *

"Yami was kissing her?" Heba asked.

Yugi nodded. "I thought he liked me, Heba. Guess I'm not as good at reading people as I thought I was." Yugi said, smiling ruefully.

"Come on, Yugi. It may not have been what it seemed." Heba said, putting his arm around his brother.

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked.

"Well, when I was still acting like Atemu's personal slave, Anzu, who was a girl who had been after Atemu for years, was here trying to seduce him. She hated me because I was always around Atemu and tried to get rid of me. Anyway, after we explained about being members of the House of Ra, Atemu and I got together, but for our safety, we kept quiet about who we were and about our relationships. I was walking down the hall and saw Atemu and Anzu kissing. I was upset and ran off. Turns out that Anzu forced herself onto him and kissed him when he didn't want he to. Atemu was just too shocked to react at first. After he explained, it made sense. He never acted like he liked her and always berated her to me." Heba explained.

"You think that the Princess forced herself onto him?" Yugi asked.

Heba nodded. "Give Yami the chance to explain." Heba said.

Yugi let out a sigh. "Okay, Heba. I'll try to talk to him." Yugi agreed and left the room.

Unfortunately, Yugi never had a chance to talk to him again that day.

* * *

Heba stood in his and Atemu's room, pacing. "Okay. So Atemu and I are getting married." he said. He turned to Yugi and said, "I don't know if I can do this."

"Heba, calm down." Yugi said.

"What if Atemu regrets it? What if he becomes unhappy after so long? What if our relationship gets worse after we're married?" Heba said, repeatedly shooting question after question.

Yugi grabbed Heba by the shoulders and forced him to sit down in a seat. "Heba, do you love Atemu?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, I do." Heba said, smiling.

"Do you know that he loves you?" Yugi asked.

"Yes." Heba replied.

"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with him?" Yugi asked.

"Yes." Heba said.

"Then calm down and know that everything will be all right. Forget about everything except for Atemu and yourself. Think about him and how much you love him, and everything will be fine." Yugi said.

Heba smiled. "Thanks, Yugi." Heba said.

"No problem. Now, let's get you ready." Yugi said.

"Okay." Heba agreed.

* * *

Seth was helping his cousin get ready for his wedding. Seth raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you not nervous about getting married, Atemu?"

"No. I'm happy that I'm finally getting married to Heba. I thought that this day would never come." Atemu said.

There was a cackle of laughter and Bakura said, "Yeah, and now all of his suitors will leave him alone since he will be officially taken."

"I have to agree, but mostly, I'm just glad that Heba and I will be together." Atemu said.

"There are going to be a lot of disappointed people after today." Marik said.

"They can be disappointed. There is nothing that is going to change my mind about this." Atemu said as he stepped out of his bathroom with Seth.

Atemu was wearing a white skirt that was laced in crimson and a pure white tunic that had streaks of black going through it. He also wore a purple cape along with triangle shaped earrings. He also wore his gold bracelets along with several rings and his crown.

"Well, I guess Yami will have all of the suitors now." Bakura said.

"He won't like it, and if any of them do what that one princess did, I can assure you that Yami will do something to put a stop to it. I'm surprised that he didn't slap her." Atemu said.

"Well, if he'd stop being so stubborn and actually tell Yugi how he feels about him, he wouldn't have that problem when they get married." Bakura said.

"If Yami gets married in the near future, I think my father will kill them both." Atemu said.

"He is on edge." Seth agreed.

* * *

"Yugi, I'm not sure about this." Heba said shakily.

"Heba, you look great. I have a feeling that Seth and Yami will have to hold him back from jumping you the second he sees you." Yugi said.

Heba was wearing a tunic skirt that reached his ankles. It was white and laced in gold. His tunic shirt was white laced with amethyst. He wore gold bracelets and a band on his upper arms. He wore earrings with symbol of the House of Ra. There was black kohl outlining his eyes. He was wearing a crimson cape. Heba looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Yugi, I don't know if I can do this!" Heba said, turning to face his brother.

Yugi put his hands on Heba's shoulder. "Heba, calm down. I get your nerves, but that'll vanish once you see Atemu's face." Yugi said.

"You sure?" Heba asked.

"Yes. You look great." Yugi said.

Heba smiled. "I'm glad that you're here, Yugi. I wouldn't want to have my wedding without you here to support me." Heba said.

"Anything for you." Yugi said.

Heba hugged his brother tightly. "I am so glad that you guys decided to stay here." Heba said.

"Yeah. I know." Yugi said.

Heba didn't miss the sad tone. He pulled back and said, "What's wrong?"

"Heba, Grandpa has asked me to come back with him. I haven't told him yes or no yet." Yugi said.

"You can't leave, Yugi." Heba said.

"Heba, I haven't decided. I'll stay for awhile longer." Yugi said. He smiled. "I just don't really have anything to tie me here, but I think I'll stay here for a for a few more moths, so we don't have to worry about if for quite some time." Yugi told him.

"Okay, Yugi. Let's just enjoy this day." Heba agreed.

* * *

The guests had assembled in the throne room for the wedding.

Aknankanon sat on his throne to watch the wedding with Yami standing at his side.

The priests were also standing along the sides of the throne in fancier clothing.

To one side, Mahado stood with Atemu, ready to begin the wedding.

Yugi, Malik, Ryou, and Jou were near the front of the guests, looking around at everyone.

'It'll be okay. I know that once Heba sees Atemu, he'll be just fine. Heba's not going to even notice that anyone other than Atemu is in the room.' Yugi thought.

There were the sounds of trumpets, and everyone looked to the doors of the throne where Heba started to walk in.

As Yugi had predicted, Heba thought of nothing but Atemu when he saw him. 'It's happening. Atemu and I are going to be married.' Heba thought.

Atemu couldn't believe that Heba looked so stunning. 'I have to be the luckiest man in the world.' Atemu thought as Heba approached him.

Mahado stepped up right in front of them. "We are gathered here today for the union between the Crown Prince and Lord Heba of the House of Ra." Mahado said.

Atemu and Heba heard him, but were in their won world, silently telling each other that they loved each other.

"Prince Atemu, do you promise to love and honor Heba, to provide for him and remain faithful to him for as long as you live?" Mahado asked.

"Yes, I do." Atemu replied, looking deeply into Heba's eyes.

"Lord Heba, do you promise to honor and love Price Atemu, to support him and remain faithful to him for as long as you both live?" Mahado asked.

"Yes, I do." Heba replied, never taking his eyes off of Atemu.

"Then you are now married." Mahado said.

Atemu and Heba kissed to seal the marriage.

In this wedding, there was one other part that had take place.

Atemu and Heba walked over to throne, where Aknankanon stood. He picked up a crown that looked exactly like Atemu's. "From this day on, you will now be a Prince of Egypt." Aknankanon said as he placed the crown on Heba.

Atemu hid a smile as did the court and Heba's family. They were all very happy.

* * *

Atemu and Heb were dancing together at the wedding party.

"Yugi did an excellent job with this." Atemu said.

"I agree. Yugi always does do his best on everything he does." Heba agreed. He glanced over at where Yugi stood. "I just hope he works things out with Yami." Heba said.

"I know. They're perfect for each other." Atemu said.

"Grandpa asked Yugi to return with him. Yugi says he'll stay here a few more moths. He thinks there's no other reason to stay." Heba said.

Atemu sighed. "Maybe Yami will stop being so stubborn and actually tell Yugi the truth." Atemu said.

* * *

Yugi stood watching Atemu and Heba dance. He smiled slightly. 'I'm glad that Atemu and Heba are married. I know that Atemu will treat him right.' Yugi thought.

Yami walked up behind Yugi and said, "Yugi?"

Yugi turned to face him. "Hi, Yami." Yugi said.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Yami asked.

"If you want to." Yugi said.

"Let's go out in the gardens." Yami said.

The two walked out where the gardens were so that they could be alone.

"Yugi, there's something I need to tell you." Yami said.

"I already know." Yugi said.

"You do?" Yami asked, a little afraid.

"Yes. I saw you kissing the Princess of Systern yesterday. It's okay if you like her." Yugi said.

"Like her?! Yugi, I don't like her at all. In fact, she forced herself on me. I didn't want to kiss her. It's a miracle that I didn't hurt her." Yami said.

"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Yugi asked.

"No. There's more. Yugi, Atemu made me realize something yesterday. Yugi, I'm not sure if you noticed, but there's something going on between us." Yami said.

"Actually, I have." Yugi replied.

"Yugi, I should have told you this a while back. I really like you. I have since we met. No. I love you." Yami said.

Yugi's eyes widened. "Y-you love me?" Yugi asked, unable to fathom that it might be true.

Yami nodded. "I really would like for us to be together." Yami said.

Yugi felt his eyes fill with tears.

Yami frowned. "Yugi, I'm sorry if I upset you." Yami said.

Yugi shook his head. "You didn't upset me, Yami. It's just that I love you, too." Yugi siad.

"You do?" Yami asked.

"Yes, and I want us to be together, too." Yugi said.

"Well, I'd say getting married is a long way off." Yami said.

"I think your father would kill us." Yugi said.

"Well, at least we can be together." Yami said, leaning down.

"Yeah, we can." Yugi said before Yami captured his lips in their first kiss.

* * *

From the balcony, Atemu, Heba, Marik, Malik, Bakura, Ryou, Seth, and Jou watched the two.

"Finally." Atemu, Seth, Bakura, and Marik said at the same time.

"It took awhile, but they accomplished it." Heba said.

"Yeah, but when will they get married?" Jou asked.

"Not for some time, I hope." anew voice said.

They turned to see Aknankanon.

"What do you think of this?" Atemu asked.

"That Yami will not be daydreaming anymore." Aknankanon said.

"At least we've all found some though.

* * *

"Yami, promise me one thing." Yugi said.

"What?" Yami asked.

"If anyone kisses you again, tell me." Yugi said.

"I will. I won't lie to you." Yami said.

"It's not that. I just want to let that person have it for going after my man." Yugi said.

"You man?" Yami questioned.

Yugi grinned. "That's what you are." Yugi replied.

"Indeed. I trust the same promise goes to you." Yami said.

"Of course." Yugi replied.

Yami leaned down and kissed Yugi once more.

* * *

That's all for Chapter 14. I FINALLY decided to get Yugi and Yami together.

The sorceress will be back in the next chapter.

R&R.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The sun shone in through the balcony window into the room.

The sunlight hit Yami right in the eyes, and he opened them, letting out a slight growl at being disturbed. As he sat up, his hand brushed against the other figure in the bed. Yami glanced down to see Yugi still sleeping peacefully.

After the wedding party the night before, Yami and Yugi had gone back to Yami's room and talked up into the middle of the night. Yugi had fallen asleep, and Yami hadn't had the heart to wake him up, so he'd just gone to sleep with Yugi beside him.

Not that he had minded.

Reaching out, Yami gently brushed Yugi's bangs out of his eyes. He couldn't help but think that Yugi looked like an angel right then. Of course, he thought that Yugi seemed like an angel anytime.

Slowly, Yugi's amethyst eyes slowly fluttered open to look blearily at Yami. "Yami?" Yugi said.

"Good morning, little one." Yami replied as Yugi sat up.

"Yami, what are you doing in my room?" Yugi asked.

Yami chuckled. "Little one, this is my room." Yami told him.

Yugi blushed slightly. "Oh." Yugi said.

"You fell asleep in here last night, and I didn't have the heart to wake you up, so I just let you sleep in here." Yami said.

"Thanks. I hope it didn't bother you." Yugi said.

"It didn't bother. I was hoping you'd actually stay in here." Yami said.

"Yami!" Yugi exclaimed.

Yami smirked. "What?" he asked innocently before capturing Yugi's lips in a kiss.

Yugi melted into the kiss as he began to kiss Yami back. When Yami broke the kiss, he asked, "How are you going to explain me being in here all night?'

Yami shrugged. "I'll just tell them the truth. After all, we didn't do anything other than talk last night." Yami told him.

"True." Yugi agreed.

* * *

Seth had been trying to wake Jou up for ten minutes, the blonde slept on peacefully.

Seth let out a low growl. "One of these days, I'm going to find a simpler way force this lazy puppy to get his tail in gear." Seth swore. He then smirked as a devilish idea came to him. He reached and started tickling Jou.

Jou's eyes snapped open as he started to laugh hysterically as he tried to get away from the hands that were tickling him. "S-Seth, stop." Jou gasped out.

Seth just kept tickling him.

"Seth, please stop. I-I can't breath." Jou said, continuing to laugh

Seth stopped when he heard Jou having trouble breathing. He kept his smirk on and said, "Get up."

"No. I don't want to get up." Jou said, grabbing the covers and pulling them back over his head.

"Puppy, if you don't get out of bed right now, I will tickle you again." Seth said.

"Go ahead and try." Jou's muffled voice said from under the covers.

"Jou, if you don't get out of bed, I'll go get a pitcher of scalding hot water and pour it all over you." Seth said.

Jou threw the covers off his head and starred wide-eyed at Seth. "You wouldn't." Jou said.

Seth's smirk widened. He leaned down so that his face was inches from Jou and said, "Try me."

Jou, not wanting to take a chance, jumped out of bed and ran into the bathing room for a bath.

Seth followed him with not-so-innocent intentions for his husband.

* * *

"Oh, come on, Ryou." Bakura whined.

"No, Bakura. I am not going to have sex with you again." Ryou protested.

Bakura pouted. "Why not? You're supposed to fulfill my needs." Bakura whined.

Ryou glared at Bakura. "Bakura, I fulfilled those needs three times last night. I do not want to go for a fourth time." Ryou said.

"Oh, come on. What's the harm? It's not like we have anything to do this morning." Bakura said.

"Bakura, I am going to bathe. You need to stay here and get control of yourself." Ryou said as he got up and walked into the bathing room.

Bakura smirked. "I've never had control over myself, and I don't plan on starting now." Bakura said under his breath. He climbed out of the bed and snuck into the bathing room without Ryou knowing it.

A moment later, Ryou cried out, "BAKURA!"

A few minutes later, all that were heard were moans coming out of the bathing room.

* * *

"Malik, why not?" Marik asked, pouting.

"Marik, not right now. I'm not sure that anyone could handle it." Malik said.

"It's not like anyone is going to make a big deal out of us getting married." Marik said.

"No, Marik. There have been three weddings already, and I don't think that the Pharaoh wants to have another wedding for awhile." Malik said.

"I'm not a member of royalty, so no one is going to make that big of a fuss over our wedding. Seth, Bakura, and Atemu didn't have much of a choice in that respect. I do." Marik told him, trying to convince Malik to marry him.

"No. I think we have all had enough with weddings at the moment. We'll get married. I think it would just be a better idea for us to wait a while. I'd like to see what a regular palace life is like instead of all the hustle and bustle that comes along with weddings." Malik said.

Marik sighed. "Fine, but I'll hold you to us getting married later on." Marik said.

Malik turned and smiled at him. "I will keep that promise. I have no intention of breaking that one." Malik assured him.

Marik smirked. "I'm going to make sure that you keep that promise. Believe me." Marik said before kissing Malik harshly.

* * *

Heba woke up to find himself lying in his husband's arms.

Atemu was still sleeping soundly.

Heba smiled to himself, unbelievably happy that he was now married to Atemu. He wiggled out of Atemu's arms and was thankful that Atemu did not wake up. He moved to the edge of the bed and slid off onto his feet, but instantly fell to the ground with a cry of surprise and slight pain.

Heba's cry caused Atemu to jerk away. He was startled to find that Heba was not in bed with him. "Heba?" Atemu called, sitting up quickly.

A hand reached up and grasped the bed, and Heba pulled himself a moment later.

"Heba, what were you doing on the floor?" Atemu asked.

"Well, I, um, was getting out of bed, and I sort of, um, fell." Heba said, blushing slightly.

"How?" Atemu asked.

Heba climbed on the bed and said, "I'd say it was from last night." Heba said.

This time, it was Atemu who blushed. "Oh." Atemu said.

"Oh. Atemu, we had sex five times last night. If I hadn't put a stop to it, it would have most likely been even longer. I'm sore, and my back's killing me." Heba said, lying down again.

Atemu reached out and gently began to massage Heba's shoulders. "Sorry about that, Heba. I guess I didn't think." Atemu said.

"It doesn't matter. It was worth it." Heba replied, turning to face Atemu.

"So, I take it that you are happy that we're married." Atemu said.

Heba smiled. "You have no idea how much." Heba replied.

"Actually, I might have an idea." Atemu replied.

"Maybe. I do know that there is not a chance that I'll be doing much today." Heba said.

Atemu smirked. "I suppose you would look really strange if you were walking around the palace limping. I was a little too rough last night." Atemu said.

"Are you sorry for it?" Heba asked.

"No, not really." Atemu replied.

Heba rolled his eyes. "You can be a very irritating man, you know that." Heba said.

Atemu smirked. "I try." he said.

Heba smacked him on the arm for the remark.

* * *

Yugi and Yami walked down the hall and were heading to the room they always sat I and talked to Atemu, Heba, Jou, Seth, Marik, Malik, Ryou, and Bakura in.

"Do you think they'll be surprised by the fact that we're a couple?" Yugi asked.

"I doubt it. Atemu knew that I loved you, and I know that he told Heba, and I figure that they told everyone else." Yami replied.

"That is true. I told Heba, so I have a feeling he told everyone as well." Yugi agreed.

"Well, at least it won't take much for them to get used to the fact that we're together." Yami said.

They reached the room and were about to go in when they heard the six talking about them.

"I can't believe how long it took for Yami and Yugi to finally admit that they are in love with each other." Ryou said.

"Yeah. It only took the time it took for our three weddings to finally get them to admit their feelings for each other." Atemu said.

"That and our bit of trickery." Bakura said.

Yugi glanced at Yami and mouthed, "Trickery?"

Yami shrugged, telling Yugi that he had no idea what they were talking about.

"Yeah. Our little schemes didn't do much good." Heba said.

"Well, it probably helped them to catch on to the fact that they had feelings for each other." Atemu added.

"Come on. They wouldn't have seen the truth if we screamed the truth to their faces." Marik said.

"Yeah. Yami was pretty stubborn, and Yugi was very shy." Malik agreed.

"Well, they're together. It doesn't matter that nothing we tried got them together." Seth said.

"Just what does that mean?" Yami asked.

Everyone whirled around to find themselves facing Yami and Yugi, both who didn't seem too pleased.

"Um, hi, guys. What's up?" Jou asked, trying to act like nothing was up.

"What schemes would you be talking about?" Yami asked.

"Nothing. Just things we've thought about pulling. It's gotten way too dull around here." Bakura said smoothly.

"It has been dull." Yugi agreed. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Maybe a little too dull." Yugi added.

"None of you have ever let it get that dull before unless you were up to something else." Yami said.

"What could we possibly be up to?" Heba asked.

"Those so called accidents that happened with us these past dew months. They weren't accidents. They were all of you." Yugi said.

Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik couldn't hide their guilt.

Atemu, Seth, Bakura, and Marik looked at each other nervously.

"It was you!" Yami exclaimed.

Atemu, Seth, Bakura, and Marik now looked guilty as well.

"The incident with the water when I slipped and fell." Yugi said.

"My idea. I used my magic to knock the water over. We were hoping that you'd say something when you ended up in an awkward position." Heba said.

"When Yugi fell off the ladder?" Yami asked.

"My idea. Marik and I tied a rope to the ladder and pulled it when Yugi was up there. The water soaking you two was just an added bonus." Bakura said.

"The balcony incident?" Yugi prodded.

"My idea. That was one crapped out completely. I never meant foe you two to fall off the balcony." Seth said.

"What about those secret admirer letters?" Yami asked.

"That was my idea, and I didn't mean for you two to get hurt by that. I was hoping that when you saw each other in the garden, you'd think the other sent it and tell each other the truth. I didn't mean for it to hurt you the way it did." Ryou said.

"Well, I suppose there' s not much that we can do now." Yugi said.

"I trust there will be no more pranks like that." Yami said.

"What would be the point? You two are together now." Atemu said.

Yugi and Yami sat down to join them.

"By the way, Yugi, where did you go after the wedding party last night?" Jou asked.

"What do you mean?" Yugi replied.

"Well, I went to your room, but you weren't there. I was just wondering what happened to you." Jou replied.

"He was in my room." Yami replied.

Everyone looked at them in disbelief.

Yugi blushed. He wasn't fond of all of the attention being solely on him.

"Was it fun?" Bakura asked.

Marik snickered at the remark.

WHACK!

"Ow!" Bakura exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head. "What was that for, Yami?!" Bakura demanded.

"Get your brain out of the gutter, idiot." Yami said. He glared at the former thief. "If you must know, Yugi and I went to my room and ended up just talking for awhile. He fell asleep in my room, and I didn't bother to wake him up. I just let him sleep in there." Yami said.

Heba glanced at his brother and smiled slightly.

Yugi understood the smile and smiled back.

The two were glad that they all had found happiness.

Yugi put his hand down and gasped.

~Vision~

_Aknankanon stood in the throne room talking to one of the guards._

_The guard left._

_Aknankanon turned to the table beside the throne. He didn't notice the figure that stood behind him._

_The figure raised a dagger and plunged it into Aknankanon's back._

_Aknankanon cried out in pain as he crumpled to the ground._

_Guards burst in, but the figure easily avoided them as he left the throne room._

_Aknankanon closed his eyes as he drew his last breath._

~End Vision~

Yugi opened his eyes.

"Yugi, are you okay?" Heba asked, worried.

Yugi wore a shocked expression mixed with confusion.

Malik knew that looked. "What is it, Yugi? What did you see in your vision?" Malik asked.

"Is the Pharaoh in the throne room?" Yugi asked.

Everyone was startled by this sudden question, but realized that Yugi wasn't joking by the tone of his voice.

"Father should be. He usually is at this time of day. Why?" Atemu asked.

"My premonition. I think someone's going to try to kill him." Yugi said before running from the room.

Everyone in the room were on their feet and following Yugi in a split second.

* * *

Aknankanon finished talking to a guard. "See that it is done." Aknankanon said.

"Yes, my pharaoh." the guard replied. He bowed and left.

Aknankanon sighed and turned to the table beside the throne to pick something up. He didn't notice the figure behind him.

The figurer raised the dagger and plunged it into Aknankanon's back.

Aknankanon cried out in pain as the doors to the throne room were thrown open.

"FATHER!" Atemu and Yami cried out at the same time.

Heba threw his arm out and sent the figure flying across the throne and making him slam into the wall before he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

Everyone ran up to where Aknankanon had fallen.

The dagger was still in his back.

"Get Isis." Atemu said.

"Wait. Yugi, can you use your healing power on Father?" Yami asked.

"Yes, but we're going to need to get the dagger out of his back. It's a good thing he's unconscious." Yugi said.

Bakura got down beside Aknankanon and took hold of the blade of the dagger and pulled out the dagger with one swift pull.

The sight of all the blood make Yami and Atemu feel sick knowing that it was their Father's blood.

Yugi out his hands over the wound and concentrated. His hands began to glow gold as the blood and the wound slowly dissipated.

There was a low groan as Aknankanon came to.

"Father!" Atemu exclaimed.

"Are you all right?" Yami asked.

"I believe so." Aknankanon replied as Seth and Bakura helped him up. "What happened?" Aknankanon asked.

"An assassin tried to kill you." Atemu said.

"Yugi's healing power saved you." Yami added.

"It would seem I owe you my life." Aknankanon said, looking at Yugi.

Yugi glanced over at where the assassin had been. "Where's that assassin?" Yugi asked.

Marik walked up to them and said, "Don't worry. I had him taken to the dungeon. Hondo will keep an eye on him. He was still unconscious, so not much of a chance that he will make any kind of escape attempt." Marik said.

"Throw him hard enough, Heba?" Ryou asked.

"Would you rather he got away?" Heba asked.

"No." Seth said.

"My point." Heba said.

"How did you know I was in danger?" Aknankanon asked.

"Yugi did somehow." Bakura replied.

"I had a premonition. I don't take them lightly under any circumstance." Yugi explained.

"How are they triggered?" Yami asked.

"Sometimes they just happen. Sometimes I touch something or someone and get one. There's no real trigger." Yugi replied.

"That was a disaster averted." Aknankanon said.

"I'm not so sure." Yugi said.

"What do you mean?" Atemu asked.

"I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of something bad." Yugi said.

"I feel it, too." Heba said.

Jou, Ryou, and Malik nodded in agreement.

"Something worse is coming." Yugi said.

* * *

"So, the Pharaoh still lives. Oh well. I suppose the House of Ra members will have to die before I can kill the Pharaoh." the sorceress said. She smirked. "Not that I would have let them live in the first place." the sorceress said. She looked up into the night sky. "The healer will be the first to go, and the rest will follow." the sorceress said before laughing evilly.

* * *

That's Chapter 15. The sorceress will be causing more trouble in the next chapter.

R&R.


	16. Chapter 16

Sorry I didn't get this out yesterday. Didn't get it finished until today.

* * *

Chapter 16

Yugi, Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik were in the library talking.

"Ok. So, if Yugi's right, then we're going to have a bit of trouble on our hands." Jou said.

"Yeah, and it looks like the Pharaoh might be the target this time around." Malik added.

"Well, this was an assassination attempt that we were able to avert, but that's not saying that we'll be able to avert the next one. It's only by chance that Yugi had that premonition when he did." Heba said.

"I have a feeling that we'll need to keep our eyes open from now on. We need to ensure that no suspicious people have free run of the palace." Yugi said.

"The Pharaoh's already got several of his most loyal guards with him at time. They're outside his room at night to make sure that no one gets in, and he has at least two guards with him at al times." Ryou said.

Yugi shook his head. "It might not be enough. Assassins are trained to get around obstacles like that. There's a chance that the assassin could get in from the balcony. Plus, there's a chance that the assassin might have had inside help." Yugi said.

"There's got to be something more that we can do." Ryou said.

"We also need to look at one other possibly." Yugi said.

"What's that?" Jou asked.

"That the Pharaoh might not be the only target." Yugi said.

"Who else could this person possibly want to target?" Malik asked.

"Yami and Atemu. I don't wish them any harm, but they are the Pharaoh's sons. If this person wants to hurt the Pharaoh, he might try to do that through them, or it could be he's trying to kill the family line." Yugi said.

"Wouldn't that mean this person would go after Heba, too? I mean, he is married to Atemu." Ryou said.

"Ryou, do you honestly think that I could get killed by anyone? I'd take them out in a heartbeat." Heba said.

"Which is also why I'm not worried about Atemu at night. Heba will be in there. The Pharaoh and Yami would still be in danger." Yugi said.

"Well, you could always sleep with Yami." Jou said with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"Jou, keep your mind on track!" Yugi exclaimed, blushing.

"Well, if we can get to them right when they're attacked like we did today, Yugi's healing power can save them." Malik said.

"What about poison, though? It's not like he could heal that." Jou stated.

"Actually, Jou, I can heal any type of poison. My healing power basically eradicated the poison from the person's body. The only affect on the person might be a little weakness for a day or two, but that's it." Yugi said.

"Not like it does you much good." Malik said.

"True." Yugi agreed.

"Okay. What do we do about protecting them? It's not like we could be with them every second of every day." Ryou said.

"We're going to have to trust the guards on this some. They're trained in this. I know that they'll protect them." Yugi said.

"We're going on faith a good but here, brother." Heba said.

"We don't have a choice. There is only so much that we can do. We're going to have trust that fate is o our side, not our enemy." Yugi said.

"Then let's hope that we can avert anyone's death from this ordeal." Jou said.

* * *

"Marik, I want the entire palace secured. No one goes in or out without my approval, and I want all the guards to be on extra alert." Aknankanon said.

"Yes, Pharaoh. I have doubled the guards to secure the palace. No one will get in or out without my knowing. I'm having four of the best guards at the front gates. I'll also station guards at your room at night as well as at Atemu's and Yami's just to be safe." Marik said.

"Good. I don't see Atemu being in any danger since Heba is with him, but Yami will need protection." Aknankanon agreed.

"Unless we could convince Yugi to stay with him. I don't think Yami would mind." Marik said.

"Marik." Aknankanon said warningly.

"I'm not trying to sound perverted, Pharaoh. They stayed in Yami's room last night, but they only slept. I'm just saying that Yami might be a little safer with Yugi sleeping in there." Marik said.

"Hmm. That does sound like a good idea, but only if they both agree to it. I am not going to force them to do anything that they do not want to do, especially Yugi." Aknankanon said.

"Do you really think that Yami will mind it?" Marik asked.

"No, and he's the one I worry about. He would be too tempted to try and seduce Yugi if they were staying in the same room." Aknankanon said.

"I think Yugi could keep him at bay if necessary." Marik said.

"Marik, go and secure the palace. I don't want this to happen again." Aknankanon said.

"Yes, my Pharaoh." Marik said, bowing before leaving.

Aknankanon sighed as he sank into the throne. "I pray that this will end soon." Aknankanon said.

* * *

Yugi walked down the hall, thinking about what he had been talking to his brother and cousins about. 'I'm not sure why, but I get an odd feeling that there is a lot more to this entire situation than I know right now.' Yugi thought.

"Yugi." a voice called.

Yugi stopped and tuned to find Aknankanon walking toward him. "Pharaoh, is there something wring?" Yugi asked.

"At the moment, no, but I was wondering if I could ask you something." Aknankanon said.

"Certainly." Yugi replied.

"Yugi, I hope that you don't take this the wrong way, but I'm worried that whoever attacked me will go after Atemu and Yami. I'm not worried about Atemu at night because Heba's with him, but Yami doesn't." Aknankanon said.

"So, you want me to stay with Yami in his room in case something happens." Yugi said.

"I know that it sounds like a lot to ask, and I won't blame you if you don't want to, but it would make me feel better knowing that someone like you was in there with him." Aknankanon said.

"You're not the first person to mention that to me today, Pharaoh, and I have thought about that. Of course, if I start staying in Yami's room, I very much doubt that he's going to let me leave when all this is settled." Yugi said.

"Does that mean that you'd prefer not to?" Aknankanon asked.

"No. I'm still thinking about it. I don't have to ask Yami how he feels about that. He made that clear last night." Yugi said.

"Last night?" Aknankanon questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"After the wedding party, Yami and I went to his room and talked for a long time. I ended up falling asleep in his room, and he just left me alone. I don't think he'd have a problem with it." Yugi said.

"No. I didn't expect him to. Just think about it, and let us know." Aknankanon told him.

Yugi nodded. "I will, Pharaoh." Yugi replied.

Aknankanon nodded before walking away.

Yugi sighed. "I think that everyone wants me to stay in Yami's room." Yugi muttered.

* * *

"That must have been frustrating, having Yugi in your bed, but not being able to do anything." Bakura said, smirking.

Yami glared at Bakura. "Just up, Bakura." Yami growled.

"Okay, you two. Knock it off. We have other things that we need to discuss." Atemu said.

"He's right. Chances are that this won't be the last attempt made right now." Seth agreed.

"Chances are that you two could also be targeted." Bakura said, gesturing to Atemu and Yami.

"I'm not worried about something like that." Atemu said.

"You don't have a reason to. If someone gets in your room, Heba will take care of them, and if anyone hurts you, I don't think that anyone will ever be able to stop him from killing whoever it is." Seth said.

"Yeah. We all have that protection except for Yami." Bakura said.

Yami rolled his eyes. "You really think that matters?" Yami asked.

"Yes!" all three said.

Yami jumped, startled. "Why does it matter so much that Yugi doesn't stay with me? We haven't even been together for an entire day yet." Yami said.

"Yami, Yugi's magic can protect you if anyone gets into your room. All we're saying is that having Yugi would give you some added protection." Atemu explained.

"I am perfectly capable of protecting myself." Yami protested.

"Come on, Yami. If whoever is doing has magic, there is nothing that we can do, but all five of them can." Bakura said.

"And what about Father?" Yami asked.

"Good question. What about him? It's not like any of them can stay with him."" Seth agreed.

"I'll talk to Heba. Maybe he can come up with something." Atemu said.

* * *

Yugi sat down by the fountain in the gardens and let out a sigh. "Everyone is out to get me today." Yugi muttered.

"A reason you say that?" a deep voice asked.

Yugi looked up to see Yami sitting down beside him. "HI, Yami." Yugi said.

Yami kissed Yugi before saying, "Hi, yourself. What's up with you? You look a little frustrated." Yami said.

"I am frustrated. I've some interesting conversations with my brother and cousins and virtually the same one with your father." Yugi said.

"What was that conversation about?" Yami asked, wondering what his father had said.

"They all think that I should, well, move into your room with you until this whole mess is settled." Yugi said, blushing.

"Oh." Yami said. He smiled and said, "I had the same conversation with Atemu, Bakura, and Seth just a little while ago. They think it would be safer if you were in there with me since your magic could protect me better if someone snuck into my room that had magic."

"What do you think?" Yugi asked.

"Well, they have all made interesting points." Yami said, averting his eyes. He truthfully wanted Yugi to move into his room, but didn't want to push him into anything.

"Uh-huh. So, you'd like for me to move into your room." Yugi said.

"Well, yes, I do, but I'm afraid that my reasons are not exactly has honorable as yours." Yami said.

"I think I can handle you, Yami." Yugi said.

Yami smiled at him. "Does that mean that you're moving in?" Yami asked.

Yugi sighed. "It's not like I'm being given much of a choice." Yugi said. He sighed again and said, "At least I would have Heba and the others off my backs, and I wouldn't have to explain if I wasn't in my room." Yugi said.

Yami frowned. "Still, that puts Father at risk." Yami said.

Yugi looked over at him. "Maybe there's something in the book that I can use." Yugi murmured aloud.

Yami glanced over at him. "What book?" Yami asked.

"Come on. I'll show you." Yugi said, getting up and heading into the palace.

Yami also got up, following him.

* * *

A dark figure looked up at the palace and smirked. 'This should be easy. The Pharaoh doesn't realize how easy it really is to get into his palace.' the figure thought. The figure pulled out an arrow and then pulled out a vile of liquid. Opening the vile, the figure poured the liquid over the tip of the arrow. 'This should take care of that healer of theirs.' The figure thought.

* * *

Yugi and Yami sat on Yugi's bed, looking through a big book.

"So, this book has been in your family for years?" Yami asked.

Yugi nodded. "Grandpa had it when our home was destroyed, so he gave it to me for safe keeping. I had a feeling that it might come in handy." Yugi siad.

A certain word caught Yami's eyes. "What is mythraine?" Yami asked.

"Oh. It's a special mixture of a poison." Yugi said.

"Special? Why?" Yami asked.

"Well, the members of the House of Ra are immune to most poisons. In fact, any poison other than this one wouldn't even affect. If someone was to put any other poison in a drink or our food, we wouldn't know it. Mythraine is different. It's a fast acting poison that could kill us in less than two hours. Fortunately, it only works on my family." Yugi said.

"So, it wouldn't affect me?" Yami asked.

"Nope." Yugi replied.

"Is there an antidote to it?" Yami asked.

"Right here." Yugi replied, turning the page to point at the antidote.

"I might need to remember that." Yami said.

"Not likely. Few people outside my family even knew that this poison exists. It's very hard to get the ingredients to make it. Thankfully, the ingredients for the antidote are easy to find. Isis probably has everything in the healing chambers. Of course, my healing powers could heal Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik if they get it in their systems. I wouldn't be so lucky." Yugi said.

"Then I do need to remember about this antidote." Yami said.

Yugi shrugged. He flipped through several more pages. "Here it is." Yugi said.

"What is it?" Yami asked.

"It's a spell that puts a magical seal around a room. In other words, if the spell was put on the Pharaoh's room, only anyone he allowed in could enter. An assassin couldn't get in through the balcony or the door. For that matter, no one could unless the Pharaoh allowed them in." Yugi said.

"This would actually help ease all our fears." Yami said.

"If the Pharaoh agrees to it, we could put this spell on his room." Yugi said.

"Why don't we ask him and see what he thinks?" Yami suggested.

Yugi nodded and put the book back in the drawer he had gotten it form before he and Yami left the room.

* * *

The figure had snuck into the palace and made their way through the palace unnoticed by anyone. The figure his behind a pillar as two guards walked by.

"So, there's a meeting going on in the throne room?" one guard asked.

"Yeah. Something to do with that assassination attempt on the Pharaoh." the other guard said.

"I hope this ends soon." the first said.

"I know, but I think Prince Heba's brother came up with an idea." the second said.

The figure smirked. 'It won't matter because soon, it will all be over.' the figure thought. Silently, the figure made its way over to the throne room, gripping his bow under his cloak, ready to let his arrow fly and complete the job his employer had given to him.

* * *

"Would this spell work, though, Yugi?" Aknankanon asked.

"Yes. The spell creates a sort of shield around the room. Anyone trying to get in would run right into an invisible shield. No one could get in unless you invited them." Yugi explained.

"How hard is the spell to do?" Mahado asked.

"Not hard at all. In fact, all it takes is two members of the House of Ra to do it." Yugi replied.

"I thought that the book was destroyed in the attack." Jou said.

"No. Grandpa had it at the time, and after Malik and I met back up with him, he gave the book to me. I never thought to mention it to you. There really never was a reason to use it before now." Yugi explained.

"Okay. It sounds like a good idea, but what about him?" Atemu asked, pointing at Yami.

Yugi looked away, blushing slightly.

"I'll be fine, Atemu." Yami snapped.

"If someone who has magic comes into the picture, you'd be dead in less than a second. We may have some magic, but we're not as well trained in magic as they are." Seth said, gesturing to where Heba, Yugi, Jou, Ryou, and Malik were.

Heba took one look at Yugi's blushing face to realize why he looked like that. Heba smirked and said, "I doubt that we'll have to worry about that much longer."

"Heba!" Yugi exclaimed.

"What's your deal?" Bakura asked.

Yami rolled his eyes and decided to get Yugi off the hook. "Yugi's going to move into my room, so that's not a problem." Yami said.

"How'd you convince him?" Jou asked.

"Yeah. He didn't seem too keen on the idea." Malik added mischievously.

"Okay. I think that solved that problem." Yami snapped, hoping to get the attention off Yugi, who blushing even more.

* * *

The figure got himself in position as he watched the group in the throne room talking. 'Hmm. Which one is which.' The figure thought, he had been told to kill one of the twins, but he didn't know who was the right one. 'Oh, well. I'll just aim for one.' the figure thought. He put the poisoned arm with the bow, pulled back, and aimed right at Heba.

* * *

Yugi suddenly sensed something, and he never doubted his senses. He glanced back but saw nothing at first.

"Well, you're good to convince Yugi, Yami." Jou said.

Yami glared at him.

Everyone else snickered except for Aknankanon who only shook his head, deciding to let them have their fun.

Yugi's senses were getting even stronger.

~Vision~

_The figure let the arrow fly, and the arrow hit Heba right in the back._

_With a startled cry, Heba fell down._

_"Heba!" Atemu cried._

_Jou and Malik rang after the figure after seeing him._

~End Vision~

Yugi realized what was wrong. He turned and saw the figure. "Heba, look out!" Yugi cried, pushing his brother out of the way as the arrow was released. Yugi wasn't able to get out of the way in time and ended up being hit in the shoulder with the arrow as he fell.

"Yugi!" Heba cried.

"There!" Jou shouted.

Malik and Jou with Marik, Bakura, and Seth on their heals chased after the figure who tried to get away before he was found.

Yugi had lost consciousness rather quickly.

"We need to get him to the healing chambers now." Isis said.

Mahado, who had experience dealing with injured people, picked Yugi up and followed Isis to the healing

* * *

That's it for Chapter 17. Hope you liked it. You'll see what happens to YUgi next time.

R&R.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Mahado, I'm going to need you to hold Yugi up so that I can get the arrow out without doing anymore damage than has already been dome." Isis said.

Mahado nodded and held Yugi up so that he was sitting up.

Isis broke off one end of the arrow before forcing the other end through his shoulder so that it could be removed. "Lay him down." Isis instructed.

Mahado lay Yugi back down on the bed, and Isis proceeded to clean and dress the wound.

"Do you think he'll be all right, Isis?" Yami asked.

"I'm not sure. It will depend on whether or not that arrow was poisoned." Isis said.

"Well, that won't make much of a difference. All members of the House of Ra are immune to all poisons except a special kind, and it cannot harm anyone, but us. Thankfully, few people know how to make that poison." Ryou said.

Heba frowned. Something was bugging him. "Ryou, some of the sorcerers and magicians that our family defeated know about that." Heba said.

"So?" Atemu said.

"That arrow was aimed at me. If one of them had this done, then there's a chance that it might have been laced in that poison." Heba said.

"How do we know for sure?" Isis asked, not seeing any signs of poison affecting Yugi.

"Well, there is one way." Heba said.

Ryou's eyes widened, then closed. He knew that Atemu wasn't going to like what Heba was about to do.

At that moment, Marik, Seth, Bakura, Malik, and Jou walked into the room.

"Did you catch that man?" Aknankanon asked.

"Man, no. It was woman who shot that arrow, but we did catch her, and she is now in the dungeons." Marik said.

"I'll deal with her later." Aknankanon said.

While everyone was busy talking, Heba had picked up a dagger that had been lying on a table. He glanced at Atemu, who was momentarily distracted. 'Atemu, I hope that you can forgive me for this, but this is the only way that we can find out before its too late to save my brother.' Heba thought. He held up the dagger to his hand and pulled the blade down across his hand, causing it bleed.

"Heba, what are you doing?!" Atemu shouted.

"Are you crazy?!" Seth added.

"I knew I was a little crazy, but I'm not that crazy." Bakura stated.

Heba completely ignored what they said and turned to Isis. "Isis, take the arrow and hold the arrowhead into my blood on it." Heba said, handing the dagger to Isis.

Isis didn't understand, but picked up the half of the arrow with the arrowhead and did as Heba told her. She placed the arrowhead into the blood on the dagger and was surprised when the blood started turning black. "What is this?!" Isis exclaimed. "I have never seen anything like this!"

"No, but it does mean that arrow was laced in that poison." Heba said.

"Ryou, please tell me you remember how to make the antidote?" Malik asked.

"No. I can remember a few of the ingredients in it, but not enough of them." Ryou replied.

Heba glanced at his brother, a concerned look in his eyes. "If we don't get him that antidote in an hour's time, he'll die." Heba said.

"Hold on. The antidote is listed in that book." Yami said.

"You mean the book of spells? That book was destroyed when our home burned down ten years ago." Jou said.

"No it wasn't. Yugi has it in his room. He showed it to me earlier." Yami said.

"Go get it." Heba said.

Yami nodded and left to get the book.

"Good thing that Yugi has that book." Ryou said.

Heba shook his head. "This would have been easier if Yugi had just let me get hit with that arrow." Heba said.

"Why do you say that? It wouldn't have changed that one of you would have been poisoned." Karim said.

"It's not that. Yugi's healing powers can heal the poison. If Heba had been hit, Yugi could have healed the poison and the injury. Yugi's power can't heal himself so there's not a chance that it could save him. We need that antidote for him." Ryou explained.

Yami returned and said. "Here's the book."

Ryou took the book and flipped through the book quickly until he came to the section about mythraine. "Isis, please tell me you have all this?" Ryou said, showing her the list of ingredients.

"Yes, we have everything here." Isis said, taking the book and going to where all her supplies were.

"We'd better hurry." Ryou said.

Aknankanon turned to Marik and said, "Come with me."

Marik nodded and followed Aknankanon as he left the room.

"Where's he going?" Jou asked.

"My guess would be that he's going to confront that assassin." Seth replied.

"I'd hate to him right about now." Bakura stated.

* * *

Aknankanon walked through the palace down to the dungeon, and it was clear to everyone that he passed that he was furious.

Marik followed and knew exactly what he had in mind. 'That assassin is as good as dead.' Marik thought, knowing that Aknankanon would not let this go unpunished.

The guards in the dungeon bowed to Aknankanon, but he paid no mind to them.

"Where is she, Marik?" Aknankanon asked.

"This way." Marik replied. He led Aknankanon through the maze of cells until they stopped at one that held a woman with black hair and green eyes.

The woman looked up and sneered. "Well, if it isn't the great Pharaoh Aknankanon. Why come and visit little ole me?" the woman mocked.

"Be silent! You have no right to speak to the Pharaoh in such a way!" Marik said in an angered tone.

"Open the cell." Aknankanon ordered.

Marik took out the keys to the cell and unlocked the door, opening it.

Aknankanon walked into the now open cell.

Marik followed him, not wanting Aknankanon to be alone with the dangerous criminal.

"To what do I owe this honor?" the woman asked sarcastically.

"I do not know who sent you, but I assure you that you will pay the prince for what you have done. You tried to kill my son's husband, but ended up hitting my son's husband's brother." Aknankanon said.

"I don't care who it was I hit. I was given a job to do, and I did it. Besides, it wasn't your son's husband that I was told to kill. I was told to kill the one who had no tie to your family." the assassin said.

Aknankanon's eyes narrowed. "Who sent you?" Aknankanon demanded.

The female assassin glared at him. "Even if I knew who my employer was, I wouldn't tell you. That information is for no one except me. Besides, my employer never gave me a name. I don't question it as long as I am paid." the assassin said.

"The only way that you might live to see another day is if you tell me who hired you." Aknankanon threatened.

The assassin glared. "Threats do not work against me, Pharaoh. I do not give out that information." the assassin hissed.

"Then you have signed your own death warrant." Aknankanon said. He turned and left the cell.

Marik followed and locked the cell door. "You're dead." Marik said with a smirk before he walked off.

The assassin leaned back in the cell. 'Well, its better than having that assassin coming after me to kill me.' the assassin thought.

* * *

"Let's hope that this antidote works." Isis said.

"There's not much else that we can do right now except wait." Heba said.

"How will we know if it worked?" Yami asked.

"Well, the poison kills within two hours. If he's still alive after that, then we know that it worked." Jou said.

Everyone looked at him.

WHACK!

"Ow! Seth, what was that for?!" Jou exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head where Seth had hit him in the head.

"Could you be a little more sensitive? He is your cousin after all." Seth said.

"Despite Jou's rather careless way of putting it, he right. All that we can do is wait and see what happens." Ryou said.

"So, we wait." Bakura said.

"If it works, how long will it take for him to completely recover?" Isis asked.

"Less than a week. Yugi's healing power helps him heal from injuries much faster than even us. He'll be pretty weak and probably nauseated for a day or so, but after that, he should get back to normal." Heba replied.

"It's a good thing that Yugi showed you that book, Yami. I had completely forgotten that Yugi had it." Malik said.

"What should we do now?" Karim asked.

"Well, you've done all you can for him, right, Isis?" Mahado asked.

"Yes, I have." Isis replied.

"The best thing would be to move him to his room and let him rest there." Mahado said.

"Well, since Yugi and Yami agreed that Yugi would move into his room, might as well put him there." Atemu stated, glancing at his brother.

Yami could tell that Atemu wasn't teasing. He knew that Atemu was saying that because he knew Yami wanted to be near him as much as possible. Yami gave his brother a hidden grateful look.

Atemu said a silent your welcome.

"I'll take him there." Yami said.

"I'll be there in a few hours to check the injury." Isis said.

Yami nodded as he picked Yugi up and left he throne room.

A few moments later, Aknankanon and Marik returned to the room.

"Where are Yugi and Yami?" Aknankanon asked.

"We thought it would be best if Yugi rested in his room, but since Yugi and Yami agreed to share a room now, Yami took him to his room to let him rest." Seth explained,

"Did you get anything out of the assassin?" Atemu asked.

"No. All we do know is that Yugi was the intended target." Aknankanon said.

"How is that possible? She fired the arrow at me." Heba said.

"Well, you two are twins, and from a distance, it would be next to impossible, if not impossible, to tell you apart. It could be that she merely made a mistake since she made it clear that Yugi was the intended target." Marik said.

"Pharaoh, was the assassin young or old?" Ryou asked.

"Why does that matter?" Bakura asked.

"All I want to know is if she would be too young to know much about the House of Ra." Ryou explained.

"She would be too young. She's probably not much older than Seth." Aknankanon replied.

"I didn't know anything about it before we met all of you, so I doubt she did either." Seth stated.

"It means that since the poison was mythraine, whoever hired this assassin knows about the poison." Heba said.

"It means any of us could be targeted." Malik said.

"You will all need to be extra careful." Aknankanon said.

"Especially Yugi. His healing power can't heal him." Malik said.

"Is the antidote like others and can last for a long period of time?" Isis asked.

"It can last for a year and have maximum effectiveness." Ryou explained.

"In that case, I believe I will make more in case Yugi is infected with the poison again." Isis said.

Everyone agreed and left the room.

* * *

Yami had put Yugi in the bed and covered him up. He let out a sigh and brushed Yugi's bangs out of his eyes. "Yugi, you'd better wake up soon. I will not let you leave me." Yami said.

There was a knock on the door.

Yami didn't feel like getting up to answer the door, so he said, "Enter!"

Atemu opened the door and walked in. "Hey." Atemu said.

"What is it?" Yami asked.

"Nothing. I was just bringing this book back. It really is a life saver." Atemu said, setting the book on the table by the bed.

"We'll have to remember that if Yugi gets hit with that poison again." Yami said.

"No, we won't. Isis went ahead and made extra of the antidote just in case. Considering this attack, its certain that there might be other attack." Atemu said.

Any idea who might be behind this?" Yami asked.

"No, but we're pretty certain that it had to be someone who has some kind of grudge against the members of the House of Ra. Ryou mentioned that only someone older would know about the poison or how to mix it." Atemu said.

"Why someone older?" Yami asked.

"Well, not many people know about that poison or how to make it. It would have to be someone who had a grudge against the House of Ra before it fell." Atemu said.

"It sounds like Yugi's the only one who has to use the antidote." Yami said.

"Unless Yugi's not here or close by at the time. Then the others might need the antidote." Atemu said."Did Father get anything out of that assassin?" Yami asked.

"No. The only thing he did learn is that Yugi was the intended target. The distance made it hard to distinguish between Heba and Yugi, so he aimed at Heba by accident." Atemu said.

"Why, Yugi, though?" Yami asked.

"No idea unless its because of those healing powers of his." Atemu said.

"We're the only ones who even know about his healing powers, though." Yami said.

"Hence the problem." Atemu said.

"What do we do now?" Yami asked.

"I don't know, but I do know that we need to en this soon." Atemu said before leaving the room.

Yami sighed and looked back at Yugi. "Don't worry, Yugi. I'm not going to leave you." Yami said as he took Yugi's hand in his own.

* * *

"Okay. So, what do we do?" Jou asked.

"What can you do? There's nothing that tells us why they're attacking us or who they are." Seth said.

"They why is probably revenge. The who is still a mystery." Heba said.

"Do none of you have an idea of who might be?" Bakura asked.

"no. There were a lot of sorcerers, sorceresses, and magicians that our family banished. Just from what I remember there were over a dozen of them, and that's in what little I remember." Heba said.

"He's right. There could be any number of suspects." Ryou said.

"Well, I guess we're at a standstill." Marik said.

"Seems like that. We're just going to need to be even more careful than usual." Atemu said.

"You do realize that its us you're talking to." Marik said.

Atemu rolled his eyes. "Okay. So we don't know the meaning of the word careful. We need to start learning." Atemu said.

"It'll be better to stick together in groups. Less chance of an assassin going after someone in a large group." Marik said.

"I think the assassin today proved that wrong." Bakura said.

"What do you suggest?" Marik retorted.

Malik remembered something that had happened in the throne room. "Yugi." Malik said.

"What about Yugi?" Atemu asked.

"He knew something wasn't right even before he had the vision. I think Yugi could sense something wasn't right. He just stiffened in a way which usually means he senses something off. He's never doubted them considering they are usually end up being right." Malik said.

"In other words, Yugi needs to tell us when he senses something and we need to listen." Atemu said.

"What if he uses it to try and play a prank on us?" Bakura asked.

"Bakura, have you ever known Yugi to play a prank on anyone?" Ryou asked.

"No." Bakura said.

"Yugi wouldn't joke around about something like this. He's be serious." Malik said.

"I doubt that Yami's going to like Yugi being used like this." Marik said.

"I don't like this." Heba said.

"Do you have a better idea?" Jou asked.

"Not really." Heba replied.

"Then we need to go along with this plan." Seth stated.

* * *

Yugi let out a low groan as he slowly opened his amethyst eyes.

Yami was instantly alert and sat up to find himself looking down at Yugi. "Yugi, are you all right?" Yami asked, taking a hold of Yugi's hand.

Yugi turned his head to looked up at Yami. "Yami, what happened?" Yugi asked.

"Don't you remember?" Yami asked, slightly worried.

"I remember pushing Heba out of the way of that arrow. I don't remember after that." Yugi said.

"You lost consciousness. Isis dressed your wound, but that arrowhead was laced with mythraine." Yami said.

Yugi's eyes widened a little. "Mythraine? I should have died." Yugi said.

"You would have if I hadn't remembered that the antidote was in that book you have." Yami told him.

"It's a good thing that I told you then. I doubt that Malik would have remembered that I had that book. Nor to mention that he wouldn't have known where I kept it." Yugi said. He tried to sit up, but hissed in pain.

Yami gently pushed him back down onto the bed. "Yugi, you don't need to try to get up. You're still very weak, and you need to rest." Yami said.

"But-" Yugi started.

"No buts. I don't want you making your injuries worse." Yami said.

"Don't you think that you're over doing it a little?" Yugi asked.

"No, I don't, and I will tie you down to this bed if I have to." Yami said.

"With my magic?" Yugi asked.

"Believe me. I will find a way. I just don't want you to overdo it." Yami said.

Yugi sighed. "Yeah. I suppose so." Yugi agreed, relaxing back into bed. It was then that he noticed that it was dark, and he knew that the attack had happened in the late morning. "Yami, how long was I out?" Yugi asked.

"Most of the day. Isis thought that her changing your dressing would have woken you, but she was surprised when you didn't. Heba explained that a person recovering from the effects of mythraine will sleep a lot." Yami said.

"Yeah. That's probably what I'll do mostly tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's the poison or the antidote that does that." Yugi said.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you rest and get better." Yami said as he got under the covers with Yugi.

Yugi blushed slightly and said, "Um, Yami. What are you doing?"

"I have had a long day, too, little one, and I am going to sleep." Yami replied.

"In my room?" Yugi squeaked.

Yami smiled. "Little one, this is my room." Yami said.

"Oh." Yugi said, blushing even more.

"Since we told everyone that we decided to share a room, we went ahead and put you in here. All your stuff was moved here, too." Yami said.

"Okay." Yugi said before yawning.

Yami smiled and wrapped his arms around Yugi, bringing him closer to his own body. "Goodnight, Yugi." Yami said.

Yugi sighed and snuggled into the warmth that Yami provided. "Goodnight, Yami." Yugi replied and drifted to sleep quickly.

Yami's smile remained on his face. 'I don't know who has done this, but they're not going to get away with it.' Yami thought as he also fell asleep.

* * *

Yugi woke up the next morning to find Heba sitting beside him. "Heba, what are you doing in here?" Yugi asked.

"Making sure you don't so something to hinder your recovery." Heba replied.

Yugi sighed. "Yami had you stay in here, didn't he?" Yugi asked.

"Yes. He was worried and wanted to stay himself, but there was a council meeting." Heba replied.

"About what?" Yugi asked.

"In short, the Pharaoh was punishing the assassins who tried to kill him and you. I don't think he'll be too kind to them." Heba said.

Yugi frowned. "Why aren't you there?" Yugi asked.

"Because I didn't trust him to not try to kill the assassin that tried to kill you." Atemu replied.

Heba and Yugi looked to see Yami and Atemu ion the room.

"You don't think he would have killed him, do you?" Yugi asked.

"Yes." Atemu and Yami said at the same time.

"I would have, Yugi, and you know it. I don't take kindly to anyone harming my family." Heba said.

"True." Yugi agreed.

"I was tempted myself." Yami said.

"I think that everyone in the throne room was tempted, but its not like it mattered. Father sentenced them to death, not that they had a chance anyway." Atemu said.

"How are you feeling, Yugi?" Yami asked.

"Better than I was last night, but I'm still tired." Yugi said.

"Which is why you're staying in bed all day." Heba said.

"Heba, I don't think I could force myself to get out of this bed if I had to." Yugi said.

"Well, since you're up, I'll have a servant bring some food. You need to eat." Atemu said and left the room.

"Yugi, you should have just let me get hit with that arrow." Heba said.

"Why?" Yugi asked, shocked.

"You could have just healed me, and I would have been fine yesterday!" Heba exclaimed.

"Oh. I kinda acted on instinct. I just did what came naturally." Yugi said.

"With you, I can believe that." Heba said. He got off the bed and said, "I think I'll go make sure Jou and Malik are staying out of trouble."

"More like helping them cause trouble." Yugi said.

"There's that too." Heba said, grinning as he left the room.

Yami sat down on the bed and said, "Yugi, are you sure okay?"

"I'll be fine. Give me a week, and I'll be fine." Yugi said.

"You'll also be more careful." Yami said.

"Yeah. I know. I really don't want to go through this again." Yugi said.

"Good." Yami said. He leaned down and kissed Yugi. "You'd better keep your word." Yami said.

Yugi smiled. "I will."

* * *

The sorceress smiled. "By now, the healer is dead." She stood up and walked out of her cave and looked up at the sky. "I think that the time has come for me to make my presence known to the Pharaoh." She smirked. "All the members of the House of Ra, the Pharaoh, the Princes, and the Priests will pay for what was done to me." the sorceress said.

* * *

That's all of Chapter 17. I hope you liked the Puzzleshipping fluff I added.

R&R.


	18. Chapter 18

Just so you know, this is other battle scene. I hope you like it.

* * *

Chapter 18

A week had passed by, and Yugi had healed completely from the injuries he had sustained.

Yugi, Yami, Heba, Atemu, Jou, Seth, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, and Marik all sat in the room that they usually met in to talk.

"There hasn't been an attack in a week." Seth said.

"Maybe it's a sign that whoever is causing this mess has finally given up." Bakura said.

"Not likely." Jou said.

"What makes you say that?" Yami asked.

"A lull a lot of times means that they are planning something big, and that when they strike, it will be the biggest one yet." Heba said.

"How do you know that?" Atemu asked.

"It's just a feeling that we all have. Someone sent assassins after me and the Pharaoh, and I don't think that someone bold enough to do that will give up so easily." Yugi said.

"He's right. In fact, the longer the attack takes, the bigger the attack that finally comes will most likely be." Ryou said.

"I think I'd better alert the guards to be extra vigilant from now on. Maybe we can stop ourselves from being blind-sided by the attack." Marik said.

"Will that actually help, though?" Bakura asked.

"It might. You just never know." Heba said.

"What about your premonitions, Yugi? Can't you see when the attack is going to come or who's doing it?" Seth asked.

Yugi shook his head. "No, I can't. I can't just force a premonition to come. They usually come to me at various times. I don't have control over the premonitions themselves. I can control what I do when they do come to me, though." Yugi said.

"We might have one advantage over whoever attacks, though." Atemu said.

"What's that?" Jou asked.

"Whoever it is will think that Yugi is dead." Atemu said.

"He's right. It was announced to the kingdom that the assassination attempt on Father had failed, but no one ever knew that Yugi had been attacked. As far as whoever attacked is concerned, Yugi's dead." Yami said.

"That does give us an advantage." Ryou stated.

"How much of one, though? They may expect me to be dead, but we don't know anything about our enemy. It's too soon to say that we are going to be able to win. The element of surprise may be in our favor, but sometimes, it's not enough." Yugi said.

"He's right. Being too confident isn't a good idea in a situation like this." Marik agreed.

The door opened and a servant looked in. "The Pharaoh has requested your presence in the throne room." the girl said.

"Which one of us?" Atemu asked.

"All of you, my Prince." the girl replied.

"Thank you." Atemu said.

The girl left quietly and quickly.

"Well, we'd better get to the throne room now." Atemu said.

They all stood up and left the room to go to the throne room.

"I wonder why Father is calling us." Yami said.

"We'll find out soon enough." Seth replied.

The group soon arrived at the throne, and the guards opened the doors and allowed them in the throne room and closed the doors behind them.

Mahado, Isis, Karim, and Shada were already with Aknankanon.

Aknankanon motioned for them to come on, and the group made their way up to throne.

"Father, you sent for us." Atemu said.

"Yes, I did. We need to discuss these assassination attempts." Aknankanon said.

"There has been nothing but silence for a week. They may have given up." Karim said.

"Isis, have you seen anything with the Millennium Necklace?" Aknankanon asked.

"No, my Pharaoh. I have not. I see nothing but darkness." Isis said.

"What do you all think?" Aknankanon asked.

Every member of the council held deep respect for the members of the House of Ra and trusted their judgments inexplicably.

"We don't think that it's over. We think that the silence might mean that whoever is behind this is planning something bigger than before." Heba said.

"Like what?" Shada asked.

"No idea. It's just a feeling." Jou replied.

Yugi began to sense something.

"Then we might need to remain on guard for awhile longer." Mahado said.

"We can't keep the guards on such high alert for too much longer without signaling to the kingdom that something is wrong." Shada said.

Yugi was no longer listening to the conversation. Slowly, he turned around to look at the doors to the throne room.

"Yugi, are you all right?" Yami asked, noticing his lover's actions.

Yugi didn't answer. "Everyone, get down!" Yugi shouted.

No one took him lightly.

Karim and Shada grabbed Aknankanon, dragging him to the ground. Everyone else got down as well.

A second later, the doors to the throne room were blown open, ripping the doors down completely. Dust filled the room, covering everyone.

Reacting on instinct, Karim, Shada, Mahado, Isis, Bakura, Seth, and Marik grabbed Aknankanon, Atemu, and Yami and pulled them behind them protectively to protect the three royals.

Heba, Yugi, Jou, Ryou, and Malik stood up to face whomever it was that had attacked.

The sorceress walked forward into the throne room, her dark eyes narrowing at the sight of the five members of the House of Ra. 'What is he doing alive? I thought that he was killed by the poison.' she thought.

"Who do you think you are bursting into the palace in such a disrespectful manner?" Seth demanded, not even trying to conceal the contempt in his voice.

"Be quiet, little boy. It is not you that I have come after. My vendetta is not against you." the sorceress said. 'But you will suffer as well since you are a member of the royal court.' the sorceress thought bitterly.

"Who are you?" Jou demanded, angered at how she had spoken to his husband.

Yugi remembered, though. "You're the sorceress called Hagar. You were sealed within a mirror by my father years ago." Yugi said.

"You have a good memory. Yes, I did. At the Pharaoh's orders, your father sealed me away for no reason. My imprisonment was unjustified." Hagar said in great bitterness.

"Unjustified?! You used your magic to try and make it seem like I was an evil pharaoh. You made the people believe I had ordered the destruction of villages that you yourself had destroyed with your dark magic. Using dark magic was forbidden, and yet you chose to ignore a law that had been in effect for generations. You killed my father. Your imprisonment was not unjustified!" Aknankanon said.

Hagar's eyes narrowed. "This kingdom stands for nothing. Dark magic once ruled all of Egypt until someone who thought that they were a threat to his rule decided to forbid the use of those dark magics and had anyone killed who used them. My family practiced the dark arts for years in secrecy, waiting until the time that we could end this stupid law. You had my parents killed and had the House of Ra imprison me in that mirror. When the House of Ra fell, I was released form that prison." Hagar said.

Yugi's eyes widened as realization hit him. "You were the one really behind the attack on our home. The raiders and guards were just a decoy." Yugi said.

"Yes, it was. Zinfri came across my mirror, and I made a deal with him. If he would ensure that the House of Ra fell, I would protect him and everyone involved form being punished for that act. Zinfri's brother, Mentrab, was a guard, and the two led the raiders and the guards in the destruction of the House of Ra. I thought that they had succeeded completely. Unfortunately, Zinfri proved to be a very evil man. I was forced to serve him until his death. Once I was free of him, I started to plot this." Hagar said.

"If you were supposed to protect them, why did you let them get killed?" Ryou asked.

"Simple. It was the act against the House of Ra that they would be protected from." Hagar said.

"Meaning that because they were sentenced to death for other acts, you didn't have to help them." Yugi said.

"Yes. Of course, finding out that you five were alive was a minor setback. After all, once you five are dead, there will be nothing to stop me." Hagar said.

"We're not going down that easily." Malik retorted.

"We'll see." Hagar said.

Yugi got a bad feeling. "Be careful. We don't know what she is truly capable of." Yugi said.

"You know something?" Heba asked.

"No. Just be careful." Yugi replied.

"There's nothing to this, Yugi. We'll handle this easily." Jou said.

"Right behind you." Malik agreed.

Both formed balls of gold magic in their hands.

"NO! DON'T!" Yugi shouted.

Malik and Jou threw their attacks at her.

Hagar's eyes glowed black and then she threw a ball of black magic from each hand. Her attacks cut right through Jou and Malik's attacks, and hit the two in the chest, sending them crashing back into the stonewall behind them.

Both fell to the ground, falling unconscious.

"JOU!" Seth shouted.

"MALIK!" Marik yelled.

"Fools. DO you honesty think that you have the power to stop me?" Hagar said.

"Heba, I think our combined power would be a good idea at the moment." Yugi said.

"I couldn't agree with you more." Heba replied.

"Ryou, get back with the Pharaoh and the others. Use your shields. Protect them at all costs." Yugi said.

Ryou nodded. "All right. Just be careful, you two." Ryou said, He turned and moved back in front of the priests before putting up a shield.

"A shield?" Bakura asked.

"Yes. With the power she has, it's of the best. Together, Yugi and Heba should be able to stop her." Ryou said.

"Should?" Yami and Atemu questioned at the same time.

"I don't know what kind of power she has, so there's no telling what she can do. Yugi and Heba are our best chance at the moment. " Ryou said.

Yugi and Heba stood side-by-side as they faced Hagar.

"You were the one who sent that assassin to stop the Pharaoh, and you tried to kill me as well." Yugi said.

"Yes, I did. As long as you were alive, your healing powers would put a stop to any attempts. I thought that you had died, but it doesn't matter. Soon, all of you will die." Hagar said.

"Your quarrel is with us now. Our father imprisoned you, and we swore to carry on the duty of our family." Heba said.

"And that means that you will have to kill us before you get to the Royal family." Yugi added.

"It will be a pleasure to kill all of you." Hagar said.

Yugi and Heba glanced at each other, having the same idea. Slowly, they reached out and took hold of each other's hand.

Before Hagar could see that they had taken hold, Yugi and Heba reached out one hand and released a dual blast of energy.

The attack went at Hagar so quickly and swiftly that she could not stop it and was hit directly in the chest, throwing her back into the wall.

"You shouldn't have a victory celebration just yet." Yugi said.

"There's still a lot of fight left in us." Heba added.

"As there is in me." Hagar said, getting up. She formed two balls of dark magic in her hands and sent them at Yugi and Heba.

Yugi put up a hand and his shield blocked the attack, but he was unable to send the attack back at her. 'She's stronger in her magics than I originally thought.' Yugi thought. He glanced over at Heba and said, "Heba, we need to force this battle out of here. I don't think that this will be a good fight."

"I agree, but how do we force her out of here?" Heba asked.

Yugi didn't have time to answer her.

Hagar threw a ball of dark magic I them, and Yugi and Heba were forced apart. Both dove out of the way, and the attack hit the wall, causing an area of it to fall to the ground.

Unfortunately, Ryou's shield did not protect him from behind and was hit in the head with the section of the wall that fell and collapsed to the ground, knocked out from the force of the blow.

"RYOU!" Bakura shouted, kneeling beside him.

'NO!' Heba thought frantically.

'The shield is gone.' Yugi thought. He looked over at Hagar. 'This definitely has to be forced out of here now.' Yugi thought. Glancing beside him, he noticed that one of the statues had a spear in its hand. Yugi took the spear and threw it at Hagar.

Hagar saw the spear hurtling toward her from the corner of her eye and turned to send a blast of magic at it, disintegrating the spear. "Fool! Do you really think that such a trivial thing would be able to stop me?" Hagar asked,

Yugi smirked, an uncommon trait for him. "Actually, it worked perfectly." Yugi replied.

Hagar's face showed her incomprehension. Suddenly, she was hit in the back and sent crashing into the hallway, out of the throne room.

In a second, Yugi and Heba were following her, hoping to prevent her form getting back into the throne room.

Hagar looked up at the two teens. "You will pay for that. No one does that to me and gets away with it." Hagar swore.

"And no one gets away with killing our family and gets away with it." Heba countered.

"Your father deserved it after he used his magic to imprison me. The only way to free me was for him to die." Hagar said.

"And you'll pay for that because our father was not the only one to die. There were servants who had nothing to do with the power or duty of the House of Ra that died." Yugi said.

"They were merely collateral damage. Some sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve a certain goal." Hagar said, acting as if she did not care that her actions had caused innocent life to be lost.

"I can see why the Pharaoh had you sealed away. You're so evil that you don't care about the loss of life. As long as you get what you want. What if a member of your family had been a servant in the house at the time? Would you have halted your attack?" Yugi asked.

"Of course not!" Hagar snapped.

"It sounds like you only care about yourself. Meaning that your family means nothing to you." Heba said.

"How would you know?" Hagar demanded.

"Your sister was servant then." Yugi said.

Hagar looked shaken. "You lie!" Hagar cried.

"Do I? Do I really seem to be lying? Your ambitions resulted in the death of your sister. She admitted that your family practiced dark arts, but she wanted no part of it, so she was given a servant job. You killed a member of your won family." Yugi said.

"No! If I did, then it is the fault of the House of Ra. She should not have been there in the first place!" Hagar shouted. She sent a ball of dark magic at Yugi, but Yugi created a shield and sent the attack flying back at her.

Hagar's eyes widened at seeing her own attack coming back at her and ducked in time to avoid it, and the attack hit the ground. Hagar looked up and glared at Yugi.

Heba formed a ball of golden magic in each hand and sent them back at Hagar.

Hagar countered in the same way, and the two attacks collided.

The recoil sent Yugi and Heba crashing back into stone pillars while Hagar was throne back into the balcony railing.

Hagar glared. "I won't lose. I promised Father that I would make sure that they paid for the loss of our family." Hagar said. She took out a dagger and threw it at Heba.

Heba held up a hand and stopped the dagger in midair from hitting him. Heba threw his arm out and sent the dagger spiraling back toward Hagar.

Hagar moved out of the way, and the dagger landed right in the stone pillar. Hagar sent another blast at Heba, but Heba sent a blast right back at her.

The recoil from the collision sent both sliding backwards.

Yugi ran over to Heba and grabbed hold of his hand. Together, the two released an attack that sent Hagar crashing to the ground. Hagar looked at the brothers, anger and hated radiating off of her. 'I will not lose. I cannot lose to a couple of children.' Hagar thought. She rose back up and sent another blast at them, but Yugi used a shield to block the attack.

Suddenly, all three held a large crack.

Heba froze. "Yugi, please tell me that was not what I think it was." Heba said.

"Heba, I think we're about to experience a very familiar experience." Yugi said.

Before the three could react, the balcony broke apart and fell down toward the gardens, Yugi, Heba, and Hagar falling with it.

* * *

Seth and Marik ran over to where Jou and Malik were lying unconscious.

"Are they all right?" Aknankanon called.

"I think they're just unconscious." Marik said.

"And it doesn't look like they're going to come to any time soon." Seth added.

They could hear the sounds of battle outside and knew that Heba and Yugi were locked in a fierce battle with Hagar.

"We need to do something to help them." Yami said.

"No. We would only get in the way. Yugi and Heba are our nest chance at getting out of this alive. We must trust them to do their best to stop this woman before she manages to do what she came here to." Aknankanon said.

It was then that they all felt the palace shake violently and heard a very loud crashing sound.

Leaving Ryou, Jou, and Malik where they were, the group ran out of the throne room and skidded to a stop when they found the balcony gone.

Looking over the edge, they saw nothing but a pile of rubble.

"You don't think that they were caught in that, do you?" Atemu asked.

"They were once before." Mahado stated.

"Okay. I don't see any of them." Yami said.

"This cannot be good." Seth said.

'This can't be happening.' Yami thought.

'They can't be dead.' Atemu thought.

Both were assuming the worst possible outcome.

* * *

Slowly, a portion of the rubble shook, and Yugi crawled out of the rubble, covered in dirt but other side fine. "Heba, where are you?" Yugi called.

"Right here." Heba replied, pushing rubble off him.

Both heard more rubble falling and looked to see Hagar climbing on top of some large hunks of the balcony.

"Great. I was hoping the fall would have killed her." Heba said.

"That would have made it too easy, and I don't think Fate is on our side at the moment." Yugi said.

The two brothers jumped off of the rubble to face her.

"I've had it. I am not going to stand this any longer." Hagar said.

"Well, you could always give up." Heba said.

"Oh, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to make you two suffer." Hagar said.

"That's not exactly going to be easy." Yugi said.

"Oh, yes it will." Hagar said. "Diabound, come forth!" Hagar called.

A creature of darkness arose to face them.

Yugi and Heba both backed up.

"Yugi, what in the name of Ra is that thing?!" Heba exclaimed.

"I have no idea, Heba, but I am sure that we have just gotten ourselves into a lot of trouble." Yugi said.

"You have no idea how much." Hagar replied. "Diabound, attack!" Hagar ordered.

Diabound opened its mouth and released an attack from it.

* * *

That's Chapter 18.

Just so you know, I made up the name Hagar, so if you've seen it somewhere else or heard it on another show, I didn't realize it, and I'm sorry.

Also, I know that in the anime/manga, Bakura was the one who had Diabound, but I made it so that Hagar had him.

The rest of the battle will be in the next chapter.

R&R.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Yugi grabbed hold of Heba's wrist and dragged him out of the way as the blast hit the rubble and destroyed it.

The recoil sent Yugi and Heba flying across the gardens.

"I think that the Pharaoh is going to have to do some remodeling with the gardens when this is all over with." Heba said.

"Heba, concentrate on the task at hand, will you?" Yugi asked.

The two stood up and turned around to face Hagar.

Hagar had a smirk on her face as she watched the two. "You may have the power of Ra on your side, but with Diabound at my command, there is nothing that you can do to stop me." Hagar said, laughing evilly.

It was Yugi's turn to smirk. "It's a little premature to have a victory celebration. We're not out of power yet." Yugi said.

"Yugi, I am out of ideas." Heba said.

"You may be, but I'm not." Yugi said.

"You're not." Heba said, surprised.

"No. Something that Grandpa taught me while I was at the Hawkins house." Yugi replied. His hand started to glow. "I call on the power of Exodia, the Forbidden One!" Yugi shouted.

A giant seal appeared in front of Yugi and Heba.

"You can't! Exodia was sealed!" Hagar shouted.

"Actually, I know how to unseal him!" Yugi retorted. He looked up at the seal. "Exodia, with the power of Ra, I unleash you from the seal. Appear before me now and aid in the protection of Egypt!" Yugi said.

From the seal, Exodia stepped out, breaking the chains that had retrained him to stand in front of Diabound.

"You're not the only one who has the power to call on powerful allies." Yugi said.

"Diabound, attack him!" Hagar ordered.

Diabound moved forward to attack, but Exodia grabbed hold of Diabound and held him back. Exodia brought back his fist and sent Diabound crashing into the ground.

Diabound opened its mouth against and fired a blast at Exodia.

The attack hit Exodia in the chest, but Exodia remained unaffected by the attack.

"Heba, listen. Go and fight against Hagar. She'll be forced to split her concentration between maintaining Diabound and fighting with you." Yugi told him.

"What about you, Yugi?" Heba asked.

"I have to sustain Exodia since I was the one who called on him and released him. This way, it'll be easier for me to a chance when I can take Diabound down, but having her distracted will help me even more." Yugi said.

Heba nodded and went to face Hagar.

'Good luck, brother.' Yugi thought.

'Good luck, brother.' Heba thought.

Hagar watched the battle and saw that neither Exodia nor Diabound were having any luck in defeating each other. 'I must defeat Exodia so that I can complete what I came here to do. I am too close to having my revenge to be stopped now by a couple of brats.' Hagar thought.

Heba formed a gold ball of energy in his hand and threw it at Hagar.

The attack hit Hagar in her side and sent her crashing to the ground. Hagar looked at Heba and glared. "You don't learn, do you, child?" Hagar asked, standing up.

"I'm a bit stubborn, so no." Heba said, a smirk on his face.

Hagar formed a ball of dark magic in her hand and threw it at Heba. Heba dove to the side out of the way at the same time he formed a ball of gold magic in his hand and threw it at Hagar, but Hagar threw another dark magic ball which collided with Heba's, and the following explosion knocked them both back.

Exodia swung out with his fist and smashed Diabound in the face, sending Diabound crashing right into the ground. Diabound lunged at Exodia, but Exodia grabbed hold of Diabound and forced him backwards.

Hagar threw a ball of magic at Heba, but Heba swung his arm out and sent the ball right back at Hagar, hitting her in the chest and sending her crashing onto her back.

Hagar lost her concentration, and Yugi saw his chance.

"Exodia! Obliterate!" Yugi ordered.

Exodia formed a fist with one of his hands and swung it at Diabound. The energy that came from Exodia hit Diabound in his chest and destroyed him.

Hagar's hand instantly went to her chest as she collapsed to her knees, her breath knocked away from the destruction of Diabound.

Yugi walked over and joined Heba.

"I'd say that you just lost your upper hand, Hagar." Heba said as Yugi dismissed Exodia who vanished.

"I am not going to give up this battle just yet. I won't let you two defeat me when I am so close to having my revenge." Hagar said.

"You already lost. You may have the power of dark magic, but that doesn't mean anything. After all, there's more than one of us whereas you're alone." Yugi said.

"I'm not as alone as you think. There may be few that practice the dark arts because they fear what the Pharaoh would do if he found out, but I do have my own allies, and Diabound is only one of them." Hagar said.

Yugi and Heba tensed at the news that she had other allies.

"If you truly have other allies, then why have they not come to aid you?" Heba asked.

"Believe me. My master will come to my aid very soon." Hagar said, her eyes burning with anger, hatred, and rage at the two teens.

As if on cue, the sky suddenly started to grow very dark.

"Yugi, its still morning, isn't it?" Heba asked.

"Yeah. Something is really wrong here." Yugi said.

The ground suddenly started to shake, knocking Yugi and Heba down.

"What's going on?!" Heba shouted.

"I have no idea!" Yugi shouted back.

Hagar laughed manically. "Oh, that's my master. He'll make you two suffer." Hagar said.

* * *

Everyone at the balcony had been thrown off balance and fallen to the ground.

"What is going on?" Seth shouted.

"This cannot be good." Bakura said.

"Look!" Isis shouted, pointing.

Everyone looked up to see a dark figure start to take form and step forward.

"What in the world is that?!" Karim exclaimed.

"It can't be." a voice breathed.

Everyone looked to see Ryou, Malik, and Jou standing behind them looking at the figure.

"I think that we have just dug ourselves into a hole that we cannot dig ourselves out of." Malik said.

"What is that thing?" Marik asked.

"Well, he's known as the overlord of the dark arts. It's rumored that he created them and will aid anyone who uses them when they need his help." Ryou said.

"He's called Zorc, and I'm not sure that we have the power to stop him." Jou said.

"You don't?!" the entire royal court exclaimed.

"If anyone has that kind of power, its Yugi and Heba.' Ryou said.

* * *

"Yugi, please tell me that you have an idea of how we can get ourselves out of this mess." Heba said.

"Heba, right now, I don't know. All I do know is that we can try to stop him, and I really wish that Jou and the others ere down here to help us." Yugi said.

"We're right here." Jou said as he, Ryou, and Malik ran up to them.

"What can we do?" Ryou asked.

"Quite honestly, I don't know." Yugi said.

"There is nothing that you can do. My master will destroy. There is nothing that can save you now." Hagar told them, her eyes showing the joy she felt.

"One thing that you should know about evil, Hagar, is that you cannot depend on them not to betray once they no longer need you." Heba said.

"Fool. I know that Master Zorc will not betray me. He is here to help me." Hagar said.

"No. He needed you to escape. He has a grudge against our father Ra. He's here to come after us for revenge against him." Yugi added.

"They are right. Ra has always been my enemy, and now, I can finally have my revenge." Zorc said.

Yugi, Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik looked up to see Zorc looming over the entire palace.

Hagar looked up. Before she could react, Zorc had released a powerful blast of dark magic and disintegrated her.

"Okay. We just traded one problem for an even bigger problem." Jou said.

Zorc opened his hand and released a powerful blast of dark magic at them.

Yugi out up a shield, and the force of the attack against the shield caused Yugi to be pushed back several feet, barely able to keep the shield up. "Guys, just so you know, think fast because I don't know how long this shield will protect us." Yugi said in a strained voice.

"What do we do? Even if all five of us combined the force of our magic, there still isn't enough power to stop him." Heba said.

"What we need is a strong source of magic that can help us." Ryou stated.

"That's obvious, but where are we going to find such a strong power in such a short time?" Malik asked.

Yugi's eyes opened and widened as realization and a sudden plan hit him. "I might have an idea. We need the Pharaoh and the others to get down here." Yugi said.

"Why?" Jou asked.

"We need their help. I think they can help us stop this." Yugi explained.

Zorc sent another attack at Yugi's shield, pushing Yugi back even more.

"Ryou, add your power to mine. We have to hold him back." Yugi said.

Ryou nodded and grabbed Yugi's hand, concentrating.

With the added power, there was less of a train on Yugi.

"Quick! Get them down here. I'll explain the plan once you do that." Yugi said.

"I'll get them.' Jou said, taking off.

"Yugi, what do you have in mind?" Heba asked.

"We need a strong power source, remember? What other source of power is stronger than the Millennium items that are in the Pharaoh and the Priests' possession?" Yugi asked.

"Of course. Their added magic can help." Malik said.

"Yeah, and we need them in a big way." Yugi said.

* * *

"We have to do something. They need help." Yami said, noticing the strain Yugi was under.

"What can we do? They have to do this because I don't think that there is anything hat we can do at the moment." Aknankanon said.

"Pharaoh!" Jou shouted running up to them.

"Jou, what are you doing here?! You should be helping them!" Atemu exclaimed.

"I am. I don't know what Yugi has in mind, but he has a plan, and he needs you to help us. I don't know what the plan is, but he's got one, and needs your help." Jou said.

The Priests and the Princes looked at Aknankanon, wondering what he would say to this.

"Let's go." Aknankanon said.

"Pharaoh, this is not wise." Mahado said.

"He's right. You are the king. We cannot allow you to walk right into a battle that could possibly lead to your death." Shada added.

"If we do not help them, this creature could destroy all of Egypt. There would be nothing left to rule. If my help can stop this creature, then my death would be worth. It is the duty of the Pharaoh to protect the people. That is what I am doing." Aknankanon told them.

The Priests looked at him in shook.

Yami and Atemu looked at each other and smiled slightly. It didn't surprise them that their father chose to fight instead of remain safe.

"You can stay here or help. I will not force it one way or another. I, however, am going to help them." Aknankanon said.

Jou turned and headed back toward the battlefield with Aknankanon, Atemu, Yami, Seth, Bakura, and Marik behind him.

Shada, Karim, Isis, and Mahado followed less than a second later, realizing that the safety of their kingdom depended on what they did now.

* * *

Zorc was still bombarding the shield with his attacks. "FOOLS! You cannot stop me! I will destroy you all and then Egypt will fall!" Zorc shouted.

"Yugi, I don't know how much longer we can keep this up." Ryou said.

"I know. Just hold out a little bit longer." Yugi replied, hoping that Jou got back down there very soon.

"Guys, we're here!" Jou shouted as he arrived with the rest of them.

"Good. This shield isn't going to last much longer." Ryou said.

"Pharaoh, listen. I need you and the others to use your own magic and the Millennium items to distract this creature." Yugi said.

"What do you mean?" Aknankanon asked.

"There's only one way to defeat this creature, but we need to distract. We only need a few minutes. Can all of you buy us a little time?" Yugi asked.

"We'll do all that we can." Aknankanon assured him.

"Jou, Ryou, Malik. You three are going to help them.. Heba, I'm going to need you to help me." Yugi said.

"Sure thing." Heba replied.

"Everyone, get out of the way. The second we put this shield down, he's going to attack." Yugi said.

Ryou and Yugi put the shield down, and everyone moved out of the way as fast as they could.

Zorc's attack hit the ground and caused a massive explosion.

"NOW!" Yugi shouted, signaling that they needed to attack immediately.

Each member of the Royal court formed balls of magic in their hands before throwing them at Zorc.

"You cannot stop me!" Zorc said.

Aknankanon released a powerful attack from the Millennium Puzzle, which hit Zorc directly, causing him to stumble backwards a little.

"The items." Aknankanon breathed. He turned and shouted, "The items! Their power works against him!"

Mahado, Isis, Karim, Shada, Bakura, and Marik, all of whom held the rest of the Millennium items, began to use their magic against Zorc.

Jou and Malik both formed balls of magic in their hands and threw them at Zorc, adding to the power of the Millennium items.

Atemu and Yami began to throw magic balls at Zorc as well.

Heba looked at his brother and said, "What do you have in mind?"

"Mere mortals don't stand a chance against Zorc. We can't do much besides fend him off." Yugi said.

"Then what are we going to do?" Heba asked.

"We can't stop this, but I know who can. It's time to call on Father and our uncles." Yugi said.

Heba's eyes widened as he realized exactly what it was that Yugi was getting at. "Do you think that it will work? We've never tried doing this before." Heba said.

"There's not time like the present. I know that this is a long shot, but I think that this might the only chance we have. Are you willing to take a chance?" Yugi asked.

Heba looked at the battlefield where Zorc was already gaining the advantage. He looked back at Yugi and said, "Let's try. I don't want anyone to die."

Yugi and Heba took hold of each other's hands, and their hands began to glow. "We, the descendants of Ra, call out for aid. In this, our hour of need we cry for help from this darkness. We call on the gods Obelisk the Tormenter, Slifer the Sky Dragon, and the Winged Dragon of Ra to come to our aid now and help us through this darkness. Save our nation from this evil, and arise to aid us. This is the plea of the children of Ra." Yugi and Heba said in unison.

Zorc released an attack that knocked everyone who was attacking him back.

"I think we're dead." Bakura said.

"Not helping, Bakura." Yami said.

"Farewell, Pharaoh." Zorc said, raising his hand.

Suddenly, beams of light burst through the dark sky to hit around Zorc. Three beams, one blue, one red, and on gold, stopped his attack.

"What is this?! Who dares attack me!" Zorc shouted.

"Zorc!" Yugi shouted.

Zorc's, along with everyone else's, attention shifted to where Yugi stood with Heba, still holding each other's hands.

"Mere mortals may not be able to stop you!" Yugi said.

"But gods can!" Heba finished.

"What?!" Zorc shouted.

The blue slowly shifted, and Obelisk the Tormentor let out a war cry that seemed to shake everything.

The red shifted, and Slifer the Sky Dragon slithered around and roared so loud that no one could seem to bear it.

The gold shifted, and the Winged Dragon of Ra let out a loud screech that let everyone know he was angry.

"Zorc, it has been eons since the last time we were forced to face each other." Obelisk said.

"You have caused great damage and corrupted many innocent people with your lies." Slifer said.

"You shall no longer be allowed to do these things. My sons, Yugi and Heba, called on s for help, and we are not going let their plea go unheard." Ra said.

"You may have stopped me once, but I will not allow you to do that again!" Zorc shouted.

"You don't have a choice. You were unable to stop us before and nothing has changed." Ra said.

Before Zorc could react, Obelisk grabbed Zorc by his arms and held him in place. Zorc started to struggle, but Slifer wrapped his tail around Zorc and squeezed tightly, stopping any further movement.

"You cannot escape your fate. This time, we will make sure that you are not able to escape again." Ra said.

All three of the Egyptian gods started to glow and disappeared taking a struggling and resistant Zorc with them.

Slowly, the sky began to light until everything was bathed in light once more.

Yugi, completely exhausted, slumped against his brother and let out a sigh. "At least it's over." Yugi muttered.

Heba helped his brother sit down and said, "Well, you're idea saved us, Yugi. We're safe."

"I can't believe it." Karim said.

"We're actually safe." Isis added.

"It would seem that Yugi knew exactly what he was doing when asked for our help." Aknankanon said.

"Yes, and now, Egypt is safe." Atemu agreed.

Jou, Malik, and Ryou looked over at where Yugi and Heba were and joined them.

"You two okay?" Jou asked.

"Tired, but fine. Mostly, I think that we need to rest." Heba said.

"Good. At least that mess is over." Ryou said.

Everyone else gathered around them.

"Will you both be all right?" Seth asked.

"Mostly, we're just worn out. I think that we'll make it, though." Yugi said.

There was a bright light that filled the sky, and Ra reappeared.

"Heba. Yugi. Are you both all right?" Ra asked.

"Yes, father. We are fine. Thanks to you." Yugi replied.

"I am glad to hear that. I am also glad to see that you and Malik are both safe." Ra said.

"What happened to Zorc?" Jou asked.

"He is being deal with by Obelisk and Slifer. He will not escape again. That we will make sure of." Ra said.

"Then will we be able to live out our lives without the threat of him trying to kill us again?" Malik asked.

"I shall ensure it. Farewell, my sons, and be happy." Ra said before he vanished.

"I think that the palace and the gardens will need some work done to them. They didn't survive quite so well." Yugi said, looking around them.

"Indeed. For now, I am just thankful that no one lost their lives over this." Aknankanon said.

"It looks like your idea worked, Yugi." Yami said.

"Yeah. If it hadn't, we'd have been dead by now." Yugi said.

The group noticed that Yugi, Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik seemed completely exhausted.

"I suggest that we all go back in the palace before all five you end up collapsing on us." Aknankanon said.

"I think I'm going to fall in bed, and dare someone to try to get me out of it for a week." Jou said.

"I don't think I'll be able to get out of bed for a week." Yugi said.

"Let's go. You five need rest." Isis said.

Atemu, Yami, Seth, Marik, and Bakura helped their respective lovers up and into the palace as they all went to rest.

* * *

That's all for Chapter 19. I hope you liked the rest of the battle.

There's going to be fluff in the next chapter.

R&R.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The day after the battle, reconstruction on the palace and the gardens began.

Since Aknankanon, Atemu, Yami, and the Priests had to do damage control with the people and explain what had happened during the battle and that they were in no danger, Aknankanon put Yugi, Heba, Jou, Ryou, and Malik in charge of the reconstruction.

* * *

"Okay. Remind me again why we are the ones that are doing this?" Jou asked.

"That's because the Pharaoh and the court have to assure the people that they are safe, and after all that happened yesterday, that could be awhile." Yugi said.

"Not to mention the fact that we were the ones who inadvertently caused all this." Heba said, glancing around as slaves were moving all of the rubble out of the gardens.

"Actually, I believe that you were the ones who caused that. The three of us were unconscious at the time that the balcony fell." Malik said, glancing at Heba and Yugi.

"Okay. Our power did that. Still, the enemy was all of ours. Plus, it's not going to kill us to try and help out. The Pharaoh has his hands full with the people panicking slightly." Heba said.

"Look. It'll help us get this organized faster if we split up." Yugi said.

"Fine. Let's get to work." Jou said.

"Yugi, Ryou, and I will handle the gardens. You two can handle the balcony." Heba said.

"Why do you two get the ground work?" Malik asked.

"Would you prefer the balcony where it just has to be repaired, or the gardens where it has to be cleaned up and repaired?" Heba asked.

"Balcony." Malik and Jou said at the same time before they headed into the place to go to the balcony.

"How did you know they'd agree?" Ryou asked.

"Because those two want the easiest job possible." Heba said.

"Come on. Let's see what we can do to help." Yugi said.

The three went to see what needed to be done on cleaning up the gardens.

* * *

Meanwhile, Aknankanon and the rest of the court had much greater stress on their hands.

"The people are not feeling very safe at the moment." Shada said.

Aknankanon had sent Karim, Shada, and Bakura out in disguise to find out what the people were thinking, and there wasn't much good news.

"They believe that they were placed in grave danger unnecessarily and think that you were not trying to save them." Karim added.

"Any more good news?" Yami asked sarcastically.

"Yami." Aknankanon said warningly.

"There is one thing that does work in our favor." Bakura said.

"What is that?" Isis asked.

"Well, what helps us is that Atemu, Seth, and I are married Heba, Jou, and Ryou." Bakura explained.

"How exactly does that help?" Mahado asked.

"Well, we all know how much trust the people had in the members of the House of Ra before it fell ten years ago." Shada said.

"Eleven." Seth said.

"Eleven years ago. In any case, they still have that trust, and knowing that they are married to us, more specifically Heba being married to Atemu, makes them feel better, especially since they saw Ra in the battle." Bakura said.

"It sounds like we need to use them being here to our advantage." Seth said.

"How exactly do we do that?" Isis asked.

"This is just something that we are going to have to give the people time to let go, but I think seeing those five might ease their minds." Bakura said.

"That will have to be up to those five." Aknankanon said.

"I really don't think that they are going to have any problem with doing this. They are always looking for a reason to get out of the palace." Atemu said.

"They'll be asked later." Aknankanon said.

"It sounds like them being here is the only thing helping us at the moment." Karim said.

"Then we'll just have it use that to help us. The good thing is that the battle was restrained to just the palace, so no one outside the palace was harmed and no damage was done to any villages around us." Shada said.

"That helps a little." Aknankanon said.

"It looks our future depends on them." Atemu said.

* * *

It was nearing dinnertime, and Yugi, Heba, and Ryou were dirty, sweaty, and tired. The three had opted to help the slaves move the rubble to get the gardens cleaned before the garden could be repaired.

"I think that we should stop for the day. We've worked all day." Ryou said.

"Agreed." Yugi said.

Heba looked out and called out, "Everyone!"

All the slaves stopped work and looked at Heba.

"We're going to stop for the day. We'll resume work after breakfast in the morning." Heba told them.

The slaves understood and began to return to the palace for dinner.

"Okay. Before we eat dinner, I have really got to bathe and change clothes." Yugi said.

"Yeah, we do. I really don't think Atemu would want me like this at all. In fact, I'm probably going to get a lecture on the fact that slaves are supposed to do all the work, not me." Heba said.

"Bakura won't care. After being gone all day, there is nothing that is going to keep him away from me." Ryou said.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Yugi asked.

"In this case, bad because I really need a bath." Ryou said.

Heba and Yugi couldn't help laughing at the look on Ryou's face.

"Come on." Yugi said after his laughter subsided. "Let's go inside and get decent."

All three headed inside and met up with Jou and Malik.

"Hey. How did your day go?" Ryou asked.

"We're tired, sweaty, and dirty from all of this work." Malik said.

"You could have just let the slaves do all the work." Heba said innocently.

"Sitting idly by while others do work we could easily do has never been one of our strong suits." Jou retorted.

"Well, let's all get cleaned up." Yugi said.

The other four agreed and left to go to their rooms.

* * *

Atemu, Yami, Seth, Bakura, and Marik walked down the hall.

"Rough day?" Marik asked.

"What would give you that idea?" Bakura retorted sarcastically.

"It hasn't been the greatest of days. We've got quite a bit of damage control to do before we're in the good graces of the people again." Atemu said.

"Is there any good news?" Marik asked.

"The fact that Atemu and Heba are married does as well as Seth and Jou and Bakura and Ryou." Yami said.

"Explain it." Marik said.

"The people still hold a lot of trust in the House of Ra, and our marriages give them some comfort. That's our strongest point at the moment." Seth said.

"How do they feel about this?" Marik asked.

"No idea. We haven't had the chance to ask them. We haven't seen them all day." Atemu said.

"I haven't, either. I've been trying to keep the people calm." Marik said.

"Didn't go so well?" Yami asked.

"Well, it wasn't so bad this afternoon, but last evening and this morning was a trial." Marik said.

"Well, let's just hope that we can get things under control very fast." Seth said.

"Are all of you going to dinner?" Marik asked.

"No. We're just having dinner sent up to our rooms. We need a break, and we'd like to spend some time with our lovers considering we haven't been able to do that all day today." Atemu said.

"We took the liberty of telling them to send yours and Mali's up to your room, too. We figured that you wouldn't want to come down for dinner." Yami said.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." Marik said.

"We thought you would." Bakura said.

* * *

Heba stepped out of the bath and grabbed a towel, drying himself off. He let out a sigh, feeling refreshed. He heard the door open and close.

"Heba. Are you in here?" Atemu called.

"Yes. I'll be out in a minute." Heba replied. He finished drying himself off and wrapped the towel around his waist before walking out. He was surprised to find Atemu lying face down on the bed. "Atemu, are you all right?" Heba asked.

"No." Atemu replied flatly.

Heba climbed onto the bed and said, "What's wrong?'

"Stressful day." Atemu replied.

"Tense?" Heba asked.

Atemu nodded.

Heba smiled before climbing on Atemu, straddling his hips. He leaned down so that he was right at Atemu's ear and whispered, "Let me help with that."

Atemu shivered at the breath on his ear and neck.

Heba reached down and started to give Atemu a massage, working out the knots in his back.

Atemu moaned, enjoying the massage. It came to him that Heba wasn't in clothes. "Heba, are you naked?" Atemu asked.

"Why, no. I just got finished bathing and am in a towel." Heba said sweetly.

"Why were you bathing? You did that this morning." Atemu said.

"Well, I was dirty and sweaty from working outside in the gardens all day and wanted to get cleaned." Heba replied, not stopping the massage.

"Why were you dirty and sweaty? All you had to do was supervise. The slaves did all the work." Atemu said.

"Um, well, I, um, may have, sorta helped with work." Heba said.

"What?!" Atemu shouted, shooting up and knocking Heba backwards onto his back.

Heba sat up and glared at Atemu. "Warn me next time."

""Heba, why did you do all that manual labor? You know that the slaves are supposed to do the work." Atemu said.

Heba rolled his eyes. "Atemu, I am quite capable of helping, and I chose to. I like doing things. You know that." Heba said.

Atemu sighed. "I wish you would let the slaves do the work." Atemu said. He looked at Heba's almost naked form. "Than again, it did have one good positive effect."

"What's that?" Heba asked. He cried out when Atemu suddenly jumped on him and pinned him to the bed. "What the_?! Atemu!" Heba exclaimed.

Atemu smirked evilly down at him. "You've given me the perfect chance to take advantage." Atemu siad. He leaned down and started to kiss Heba's neck.

Heba let out a moan.

It was then that a knock come on the door.

Atemu growled. "Why now?" Atemu asked.

Heba smiled and wiggled out from under Atemu to grab a robe and pull it on.

"Enter." Atemu called out.

A servant came in and left their dinner before leaving again.

"Dinner in here?" Heba asked.

"Yes. I haven't been able to see you all day, and I wanted to spend the rest of the day with you." Atemu said.

Heba sighed. "Fine." He didn't notice the devious look on Atemu's' face. The next thing Heba knew, he was pinned to the bed. "Atemu!" Heba exclaimed for the second time that night.

"Well, you should have put on clothes." Atemu said wickedly.

"Atemu, we should eat first." Heba protested.

"Later. Right now, I'm hungry for you." Atemu said before starting to kiss Heba senseless and stopped any protesting from him.

* * *

Jou was relaxing in a nice bath. He let out a sigh and said, "This is nice."

"I can see that." a new voice said.

Jou didn't bother opening his eyes. "Hi, Seth. What's up?" Jou asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Seth said.

"I helped with the manual labor, so I was tired and dirty and wanted to get cleaned up." Jou said.

"And now?" Seth asked.

"Relaxing." Jou replied.

"Hmm. That sounds like a good idea." Seth said.

Jou opened his eyes to find Seth sliding into the water as well. "Long day?" Jou asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Seth replied.

"What happened?" Jou asked.

"The battle yesterday caused the people o lose some of the faith they had in the Pharaoh. It's going to take some work getting their trust back." Seth said.

"I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure that you'll be able to do that." Jou said.

"Maybe, but I know exactly what it is that I want to do now." Seth said.

"What's that?" Jou asked.

Seth jumped on Jou and pinned him to the side of the bath. "I've done nothing except work all day. I think that I have earned the chance to have a little fun." Seth said.

"Shouldn't this wait? We've got to go eat dinner." Jou said.

"Actually, I had it brought in here." Seth said.

"Then shouldn't we go eat?" Jou asked.

"No. I'd rather have fun with you." Seth said, moving even closer to Jou.

"Um, don't you think that we should at least move this to our bed?" Jou asked.

"Nope. I think that I'd much prefer to stay right here with you." Seth said.

Before Jou could protests anymore, Seth crushed their mouths together. Jou didn't even try to protest after that.

* * *

Ryou finished taking his bath and climbed out. He grabbed a towel and began to dry himself off.

Arms suddenly wrapped themselves around him, making Ryou jump. He tried to turn around, but found the grip to be too tight for him to get out of.

"You're not going anyway." a voice purred.

"B-b-Bakura." Ryou said.

"Who else has had the audacity to walk in on you when you've been naked?" Bakura demanded, his voice hard.

"N-no one, Bakura. You just startled me. You should know better than to sneak up on me like that!" Ryou scolded.

"Since when do I listen to you when you say things like that?" Bakura asked, burying his face in Ryou's hair.

"You never have. Sometimes, I wonder why I try to stop you from acting like this." Ryou said.

Bakura smirked into Ryou's hair. "I'm glad that you finally realize that, Ryou." Bakura said. He moved away and started to kiss Ryou on the neck.

Ryou closed his eyes and let out a soft moan. "Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be a long night for me?" Ryou asked.

"Because it is. I haven't had the chance to see you all day, and there is no way that I'm going to waste it." Bakura said.

"What about dinner?" Ryou asked.

"Had it brought up, but I would much rather play with you than eat." Bakura said.

Ryou sighed. "I'm going to have to ask the Pharaoh to not force you to be apart from me all day long, aren't I?" Ryou asked.

"You could, but it wouldn't do you much good. It wouldn't change how I feel." Bakura said. Bakura suddenly swooped Ryou up into his arms.

"Bakura!" Ryou exclaimed, startled.

Bakura smirked as he made his way into the bedroom. "You know how I get, and you're not going to be leaving this room the rest of the night." Bakura said. He threw Ryou onto the bed before climbing on top of him.

Ryou glanced up and gulped at the predatory look Bakura had.

It was definitely going to be a long night.

Bakura leaned down and kissed Ryou roughly.

* * *

Malik finished drying off and walked out into the bedroom stark naked. He jumped when he saw Marik sitting in the chair.

Marik has his elbow propped up on the arm of the chair with his cheek resting in his hand with a smirk on his face as he watched Malik. :What?" Marik asked innocently.

"What are you doing here? I thought the Pharaoh had you doing crowd control." Malik said, knowing the panic that had been caused.

"Well, he thought that I deserved some time off since the panic has calmed down a great deal, and this is my room, too." Marik said. Malik blushed slightly. "You could have warned me that you were in here. You could have brought someone in here with you, and they would have seen me naked." Malik said.

"If I had someone with me, I would have let you know. I really don't want anyone else seeing you like this." Marik said, eying Malik's body appreciatively and lustfully.

Malik blushed even more and reached for his robe.

Marik was suddenly by his side and gripping his wrist in the blink of an eye.

"Marik, what are you doing?" Malik asked.

"There's no reason for you to do that. After all, you won't be needing it." Marik said.

"But-but what about dinner?" Malik asked.

"Yami had it sent up here, but I'm not that hungry. Ay least, not for food." Marik said.

Malik rolled his eyes. "You have a one-tracked mind, Marik." Malik said.

"As if you don't like it." Marik said.

Malik looked at him only to be kissed hard. Malik gave in and wrapped his arms around Marik's neck, deepening the kiss even more.

Malik pulled away and said, "You know, I'm not that hungry, either." Malik said.

A split second later, Marik and Malik were both on the bed.

* * *

Yugi climbed out of the bath and dried off. He walked into his room and put on some clothes. As soon as he finished, Yami walked in.

"Hi, Yami." Yugi said. He noticed Yami's stressed features and asked, "Bad day?"

"You have no idea." Yami said before sitting on the bed.

Yugi sat down beside him and said, "What happened?"

Yami let out a sigh.

Yugi scooted back against the headboard and Yami laid his head down in Yugi lap. Yugi started to run his hand through Yami's hair. Yugi had found that doing that usually calmed Yami down, and it worked this time as well.

"What happened?" Yugi asked.

"The people are still a little frightened after what happened yesterday. They don't exactly have a lot of trust in us right now." Yami said.

"That'll change. They'll see that you couldn't have prevented it, and that you did save them." Yugi assured him.

Yami looked up at him. "Actually, you and Heba were the ones that stopped him." Yami said.

"Technically, my father and uncles did." Yugi replied.

Yami frowned. "Uncles?" he asked, raising an eyebrows.

Yugi nodded. "It's not very well known, nit Obelisk, Slifer, and Ra are brothers. Since Ra is my father, Obelisk and Slifer are my uncles." Yugi explained.

"Remind me never to make you angry, or I'll have three gods coming after me." Yami said.

Yugi laughed.

There was a knock on the door.

"That's probably dinner." Yami said.

The servant came in and left the dinner before leaving.

"Why are we eating in our room?" Yugi asked.

"Because I haven't seen you all day, and I wanted to spend the rest of the day with you. Also, Atemu, Seth, Bakura, and Marik were eating in their rooms, so they won't be seen the rest of the day." Yami said.

"Good point." Yugi agreed.

The two sat down and ate.

"How did everything go today?" Yami asked.

"Fine. Although I was tired after all the work we did." Yugi said.

"What work? The slaves do all the work." Yami said.

"Well, we've always preferred to do work. I know it sounds strange, but if it is something that we can help with, more likely than not, my brother and my cousins and I help out. We don't mind doing manual labor." Yugi explained.

"No wonder you're tired." Yami said.

Yugi shrugged. "I don't mind. In truth, I find it rather rewarding." Yugi said.

The two finished eating and sat back down on the bed.

"I'm going to hate tomorrow because it is going to be exactly like today." Yami said.

"Well, then relax tonight." Yugi said.

Yami was startled when Yugi suddenly straddled his stomach. "Yugi, what are you doing?" Yami asked.

"Can you think of a better way to forget about your problems?" Yugi asked.

But, are you sure?" Yami asked.

Yugi smirked. "Yes, I am. Of course, if you don't want to-" Yugi trailed of.

Yami's eyes darkened with desire as he flipped them so that Yugi was on the bottom. "You're not going anywhere." Yami growled.

Yugi looked up at him. "Then get started." Yugi said.

Yami leaned down and kissed him to start their first night together.

* * *

Over time, the people did regain trust in the Crown again. In a matter of weeks, thanks to the effort that Heba, Yugi, Jou, Ryou, and Malik put into it, the people completely trusted the Pharaoh again.

The palace was completely restored from the destruction that had been caused, once again, thanks to Heba, Yugi, Jou, Ryou, and Malik.

Several months after the battle, Aknankanon died.

Following his father's death, Atemu assumed the role of Pharaoh with Heba ruling by his side.

The people were thankful that such a kind ruler was in power with an equally kind husband.

* * *

Malik and Marik were walking through town.

"You realize that when Atemu finds out you shirked your duties to take me into town again, he'll be yelling." Malik said.

Marik shrugged. "It'll be worth it to have him yell at me." Marik said.

Malik shook his head. "You like getting yelled at way too much." Malik said.

"Actually, I had a different idea." Marik said, pulling Malik away from the crowded area.

"Marik, what are you doing?" Malik asked.

"Malik, we've been together for over a year now. So, I was wondering if you would marry me?" Marik said, holding out a violet ring.

Malik's eyes widened. "Yes, Marik! Of course I'll marry you!" Malik said, hugging Marik tightly.

Marik smiled. "I'm glad to hear that." He pushed Malik back to put the ring on his finger. Marik then took Malik's chin in his hand and kissed him softly.

"So, when are we going to get married?" Malik asked.

"As soon as we can." Marik replied before kissing Malik again.

* * *

Yami and Yugi were walking though the gardens.

"Yami, aren't you supposed to be in a council meeting?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, but I snuck out." Yami said.

"Meaning Atemu will be yelling." Yugi said.

"Probably at Marik more. He snuck out of the palace with Malik." Yami said.

"There's going to be a lot of yelling." Yugi said.

"Actually, there was something that I wanted to ask you." Yami said.

"What's' that?" Yugi asked as they sat down at the fountain.

"Yugi, we've been together for a long time, and I love you with all my heart and soul. Yugi, will you marry me?" Yami asked, holding out a crimson ring.

Yugi eyes watered as he said, Yes, I will!" he hugged Yami tightly, who happily returned the hug.

Yami put the ring on Yugi's finger before kissing him. "I can't wait to get married to you." Yami said.

"When do you think that will be?" Yugi asked.

"I don't know, but I'd like for it to be soon." Yami said.

"I'd like that, too." Yugi agreed.

Yami smiled and kissed Yugi again.

* * *

That's all for Chapter 20.

I'm going to try to put both weddings in the next chapter. Otherwise, they'll be in two separate chapters.

As always, R&R.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"I think that I am going to kill both of them!" Atemu nearly shouted.

"Atemu, calm down." Heba told him.

"Marik and Yami both had to propose at the exact same time, didn't that?" Atemu continued.

"What's the big deal? It's not like they are going to get married on the same day, in the same week, or even in the same month." Heba said.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is going to be to plan two different weddings?" Atemu asked.

"No, but I could ask Yugi. Don't forget that he helped with three of them." Heba said.

Atemu glared at him. "Yeah. I don't see how Father managed handling three weddings at the same time." Atemu said.

"Well, he did, and if your father managed to handle three weddings, then you can two. After all, it's a wonder that he did not end up killing you, Bakura, and Seth for deciding that you wanted to get married at the same time." Heba said.

Atemu sighed. "With all that's going on, I really don't have time to deal with weddings. I have trade agreements with three kingdoms that I need to make right now." Atemu said.

Heba rolled his eyes. "Then deal with the trade agreements. Just let Isis and Mahado help me." Heba said.

"With what?" Atemu asked.

"The weddings. I will handle the plans for the weddings with a little help. And if I have to rope Jou and Ryou into helping me, I will." Heba said.

"You'll handle the plans for the weddings. Do you even know how to do that? "Atemu asked.

"That would be why I'd like Mahado's and Isis' help. They can help me out a lot. Like I said, I'll get Jou and Ryou to help, too." Heba said.

"If you think that you can handle these things, then go ahead. In fact, I will gladly hand over this mess to you." Atemu said.

"Gee. Thanks a lot. Glad that you think so highly of your brother that you'll put so much effort into his wedding." Heba said sarcastically.

"You do realize that Yugi and Yami's wedding will have to be a big deal. Since he's the Prince, we don't exactly have an option in that area." Atemu said.

"As much as that is going to irritate my brother, I know, and I am going to make sure that it is presentable for the visiting royalty." Heba said.

"Good, and good luck with planning these weddings." Atemu said.

"Do me a favor and shut up." Heba said before kissing Atemu.

* * *

Malik was nervously pacing the room. "Were any of you this nervous on the day of your weddings?" Malik asked.

"I know I was. Yugi had to talk to me to get me calm enough to go through with it." Ryou said.

"I was pretty nervous, too. Of course, most of mine came from the fact that there were visiting nobles and royalty there." Heba said.

"I wasn't worried at all. In fact, I was too excited when I was marrying Seth to have any time left to be nervous." Jou said.

"Don't worry, Malik. It'll be fine. You and Marik love each other, so there is nothing for you to be worried or nervous about. Besides, it's just your friends and family that are here, so its not like there's any strangers here." Yugi said.

"Yeah. You'll be the ones having to deal with all of the strangers being around." Jou said, smirking at Yugi.

"Let's get through this one first." Heba said. He looked at Malik and said, "You really need to get ready." Malik nodded and went into the bathroom to change.

"You think that he'll chicken out?" Jou asked.

"No, I'm not!" Malik shouted.

Jou jumped at that. "Man. He has really good hearing." Jou muttered.

* * *

Marik was pacing his room dressed in a tanned tunic and white skirt. He wore gold bracelets around his wrists and a gold necklace. "How much longer?" he asked.

"Calm down, Marik. You don't have that much longer until you and Malik will be married." Seth said.

"This waiting is killing you." Bakura said, smirking.

"I seem to recall that you were rather impatient when it came to you marrying Ryou." Yami said.

"Shut-up!" Bakura snapped.

"Is everything ready, though?" Marik asked.

"Marik, Heba covered everything with Jou and Ryou helping him not to mention Isis and Mahado. Everything will be fine." Seth said.

"I hope so. All of this waiting is killing me." Marik said.

"Great. Die before Malik marries you. That's a way to tell someone that you love them." Bakura said.

"Shut up!" Marik growled.

There was a knock on the door.

Yami stood up and answered it.

It was a servant. "We're ready." the servant said.

"Thank you." Yami said.

The servant bowed and left.

"Come on, Marik. It's time." Yami said.

"Finally." Marik said, walking out past Yami.

Yami rolled his eyes as he, Seth, and Bakura followed.

* * *

Malik stepped out of the bathroom wearing an off-white tunic dress with gold bracelets around his wrists.

"Malik, you look great." Ryou said.

"Are you sure?" Malik asked.

"Well, Marik's going to have a problem keeping his hands off of you." Heba said.

"He has that problem anyway." Malik said.

"It shouldn't be anything to new to you then." Jou said.

Malik glared at him. "Do me a favor, Jou, and shut up." Malik said.

There was a knock on the door, and Yugi went to answer it.

The servant said, "We're ready."

"Thank you." Yugi said.

The servant bowed and left.

"Come on, Malik. It's time." Yugi said.

Malik nodded and left the room with Yugi, Heba, Jou, and Ryou following behind him.

* * *

The wedding was being held out in the gardens.

The guests were waiting for the wedding to start.

Marik was standing at the center of the gardens with Mahado standing near him.

Mahado glanced at Marik and thought, 'If this doesn't start soon, Marik is going to go on a rampage. He's on edge as it is.'

Atemu noticed this as well. "Heba, tell me this is about to start." Atemu said.

"Yes. You can take one day off from working." Heba hissed.

"It's not that. I don't mind the wedding. It's Marik. He's already on edge, and he might explode if h doesn't get married fast." Atemu said.

"It'll will be just a few minutes." Heba told him.

True to Heba's words, it was only a few minutes later that Malik walked through the rows of guests toward where Marik was.

It was when their eyes met that Malik and Marik stopped thinking about who was there and just concentrated on each other.

Malik and Marik stood facing each other with Mahado standing near them.

Mahado started the ceremony. "We are gathered here today to join Marik and Malik together in marriage." He turned to Marik and said, "Marik, do you promise to love and honor Malik, to provide for him and stay with him as long as you live?"

"Yes, I do." Marik replied.

"Malik, do you promise to love and honor Marik, to support him and be there for him as long as you both live?" Mahado asked.

"Yes, I do." Malik replied.

"Then you are now married." Mahado said.

Marik and Malik kissed each other to seal the marriage.

* * *

The wedding party was festive, and everyone was happy.

"I'm glad that we are finally married." Malik said.

"SO am I, and I can't wait for tonight." Marik said, smirking.

"Marik, not now." Malik said.

Heba and Atemu were also dancing together.

"It's been a long time since the last time we danced together." Atemu said.

"Our wedding." Heba replied.

"Sorry I haven't had much time for you lately." Atemu said.

"It's okay. Ruling the kingdom is stressful and important." Heba said.

"Well, I'll make up fort hat tonight." Atemu said.

"I know you will.' Heba replied.

Bakura and Ryou were watching them dance.

"Well, that adds another couple with one more to go." Bakura said.

"Yes. Yugi and Yami will be married next." Ryou said.

"Visiting nobility. What a treat." Bakura said.

"Stop it now, or you'll be doing nothing except sleeping I our bed tonight." Ryou warned.

"Fine." Bakura said sullenly.

Seth and Jou danced.

"That reminded me of our wedding." Seth said.

"Yeah. It was special." Jou said.

"Always will be." Seth told him.

Yami and Yugi were dancing.

"I'm glad that Malik and Marik are married now. I know that Malik is happy." Yugi said.

"Yeah, and we'll be married really soon." Yami said.

"That is something that I can't wait for." Yugi said.

"Me and you both." Yami replied, smiling at him.

* * *

A month and a half had passed by since Malik and Marik had gotten married.

Guests started to arrive at the palace for Yugi and Yami's wedding.

Yami walked down the hallway, heading to his room to meet up with Yugi.

"Prince Yami!" a feminine voice called.

Yami let out a low groan and turned to find himself facing the Princess of Systern, the Princess who had kissed him at Atemu's wedding. His crimson eyes instantly hardened as he said, "Yes, Princess."

The Princess ignored the hard tone in his voice and smiled up at him sexily, or what she thought was sexily. "Why do you want to get married to that guy? You should just dump him and marry me instead." the Princess said.

"And why would I do that?" Yami asked.

"Because I am sure that I can satisfy you much more than he could. That worthless man could never give you what I could." the Princess haughtily.

Yami's eyes turned to hatred as he glared heatedly at her.

The Princess took a step back, rather scared at the look.

"Princess, I will have you know that my fiancé is not only a member of the House of Ra, but he is also Heba's brother, my brother's husband, the Pharaoh. You would be wise not to insult him or speak down about him, especially to me. I am very happy with Yugi, and he does satisfy me in more ways than you ever could," Yami said.

The Princess's eyes widened as she realized what he meant.

"I would prefer it if you did not approach me for the rest of your visit." Yami said before walking off.

* * *

Yugi lay on his bed reading when he heard the door open, but didn't look up until he heard the door slam, which caused him to jump. He looked up to see a fuming Yami walking into the room. Yugi put his book down on the bed and turned to Yami. "What's wrong, Yami?" Yugi asked.

"I wish these princesses would just stay away from me." Yami said.

Once more, Yugi asked, "What's wrong?"

Yami told him what had happened with the Princess of Systern in the hallway.

"Yami, you shouldn't let them get to you. You know that there is not a chance with them, so let it go. Once we're married, it won't matter. You know that to come onto a married person is against the law, and that person could be punished by death for such an act." Yugi said.

"I know, but these people will not leave me alone, and we don't get married until tomorrow." Yami said.

"Yami, it will be over very soon. We'll be married tomorrow, and there will be nothing that anyone can do." Yugi said, pulling Yami down onto the bed as well.

Yami sighed. "I just wish that people would get the hint that I'm getting married, and I want nothing to do with them." Yami said.

"Yami, it'll be over tomorrow. Try not to worry too much." Yugi told him.

* * *

Yugi looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a white skirt and white shirt with streaks of red in it. He had on gold bracelets, a ring around his upper right arm, and earrings hanging from his ears. He also wore a purple cape.

"Wow, Yugi. You look really great." Heba said.

"Thanks, Heba. I appreciate that." Yugi said.

"Are you nervous?" Ryou asked.

"No, I'm not. In fact, I actually am looking forward to this." Yugi said.

"I know Yami is. He was irritated yesterday with the people that kept coming onto him." Malik said.

"He's not the only one, but we're ready to get married." Yugi said.

There was a knock on the door.

Jou got up and answered the door.

"We're ready to start." the servant said.

Jou just nodded, and the servant left.

"Seth's rubbing off on you." Malik siad.

"Shut up!" Jou retorted.

"Let's go." Heba said.

The group left the room.

* * *

Yami stood in the room wearing a white skirt and a white tunic streaked in gold. He also wore golden bracelets, a band on each upper arm, earrings, and his crown.

"Well, you certainly seem to be eager." Atemu said, noting how annoyed his brother was getting.

"Well, I'd like to get married. After all, Yugi and I have been together for awhile." Yami replied.

"More like you want people to stop bugging me." Bakura said.

"Yes, I want people to leave me alone, but mostly, I just want to be married to him." Yami said.

"You will be soon, so just be calm." Seth said.

"I am calm." Yami replied.

"I think that he's been the calmest one so far." Marik stated.

There was a knock on the do.

Atemu answered.

"We're ready." the servant said and left.

"Let's go." Yami said.

The group left the room.

* * *

In the throne room, Atemu sat on his throne with Heba at his side.

The priests stood in their usual spots except for Mahado, who stood to marry Yami and Yugi.

Yami stood with Mahado.

A moment later, Yugi started walking through the throne room.

Yami's eyes locked with Yugi's, and a silent 'I love you' passed between them.

Once Yugi made it to where Yami and Mahado were, Mahado started. "We are gathered here to witness the marriage of Prince Yami, the brother of Pharaoh Atemu, to Lord Yugi, of the House of Ra." Mahad said. He turned to Yami and said, "Prince Yami, do you promise to love and honor Lord Yugi, to provide for him and stay with him as long as you live?"

"Yes, I do." Yami said.

"Lord Yugi, do you promise to love and honor Prince Yami, to support him and remain with him as long as you both live?" Mahado asked.

"Yes, I do." Yugi replied.

"Then you are now married." Mahado said.

Yugi and Yami kissed each other.

As with Atemu and Heba's marriage, there was one extra part to Yami and Yugi's as well.

The new couple made their way up to the throne to where Atemu already had stood up.

Atemu took the crown on the table and placed it on Yugi's head, saying, "From this moment on, you will be known as a Prince of Egypt."

* * *

The wedding party was also festive.

"Well, we're all married now." Atemu said.

"Yes, and now, we can get back to normal." Seth said.

"You saying that this isn't normal?" Jou asked.

"Weddings are to an everyday occurrence." Bakura said.

"I think Atemu would have a fit if we had a wedding everyday." Yami said.

Atemu groaned. "Weddings are not easy." Atemu said.

"How would you know? I planned them both." Heba said.

"And I helped plan the other three." Yugi said.

"We've covered that now, but it is good that we are all married now." Ryou said.

"So, we're all happy now." Malik said.

"I guess our lives can't be any better now." Marik said.

* * *

Their lives did get better.

Atemu and Heba adopted two children, a boy and a girl. The boy's name was Aseumi, and he was raised to be the next pharaoh. Mesi was their daughter and treated like the princess she was.

Yugi and Yami adopted Yori, their son, and Kumkio, their daughter.

Bakura and Ryou adopted Kryal, their daughter, and she ended up being much like Ryou, kind and gentle.

Marik and Malik adopted Zenther, their son and he became a guard the palace and served under Atemu.

Seth and Jou adopted Mysant, their son, and Ansumi, their daughter. Mysant became a high priest, following in Seth's footprints, and Ansumi became a palace healer, trained by Isis.

The group lived the rest of their lives in peace and died happy, but they never forget how they met or the trials they went through in the first years of knowing each other.

**THE END**

* * *

That's the end of the story. I hope you enjoyed it.

I have a few ideas for other stories, so I should be writing a new one soon.

ALso, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. I appreicate your reading and your thoughts.

R&R.


End file.
